Simran Chand 
Suva Muslim College football team [Photo: Supplied]
Suva Muslim College’s football side has qualified for the Fiji Secondary Schools’ Inter-District Championship (IDC) after 17 years, a result of patience and hard work from the entire school community.
The team’s hard work began in the first term with their futsal preparations.
The players dedicated themselves to training, giving up their free time and prioritizing football while meticulously balancing their schoolwork.
Impressed by their futsal performance during the Secondary School’s Futsal competition, Fiji Football Association Head of Development South, Meli Yasawa, came on board in the second term to help the team in their 11-a-side campaign.
Suva Muslim captain and head boy Mohammad Umair Rasheed says the team’s journey has been quite rough, filled with ups and downs.
The team faced challenges last year, including losing games and internal conflicts.
“Our mindset was not right, so coming back this year, we regrouped, we thought of how we can approach these situations, and how we can further our mindsets, even though we lose a game, how we can reset, how we can come together as a team, we can move forward, because not just one game determines our entire tournament.”
Rasheed adds that the team, which is composed of students from many different backgrounds, has shown a remarkable transformation in their discipline.
He credits the school’s focus on holistic development with helping to shape the players’ lives and behavior.
Rasheed says that he no longer sees stereotypical soccer players, but instead sees students who are well-mannered, well-behaved, and who represent the school’s brand.
The School’s IDC starts in Ba tomorrow.
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