[Source: Fiji Football Association / Facebook]

The Baby Bula Boys have a solid chance of qualifying for the Under-16 World Cup in Peru next year.

The Fiji U17 side will fight for one of the two qualifying spots during the upcoming OFC U17 Championship which will also include New Zealand.

Coach Sunil Kumar says they are ramping up preparations with less than 12 days left for the tournament.

“After today’s sand-dunes session we could see there’s a very strong bonding and spirit amongst the players. The boys are quite positive and are looking forward for the competition.”

Kumar says this will be the first time that all his 23 players in camp will be playing in a major tournament.

On the downside, the team hasn’t had enough game time for the past two years due to the pandemic but Kumar says they know the stakes are high, and playing at home is enough motivation for them.

The Baby Bula Boys will face Samoa in their first match before taking on Tonga.

Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands are not part of the competition.

The tournament will be held in Fiji from January 11th to the 28th.