The Nadi Fiji team retained the Pacific Soccer Cup tournament, delighting thousands of fans at Bill McKinlay Park in Panmure, Auckland on November 24, 2013.
The winning team also took home the Trophy and $10,000 cash prize.
An upset Labasa Fiji team, content with the Runner-Up Trophy, received $3000 cash award.
The much-talked about tournament was organised by the New Zealand Fiji Football Inc, with the support of the Fiji Football Association.
Ten teams participated in the tournament. They included BA FA, Labasa FA, Nadi FA and Suva FA (representing Fiji Football Association), Nadi NZ, Nasinu NZ, Vatukoula NZ and Savusavu NZ (New Zealand), AFSA Sydney and Queensland (Australia).
Pool matches
Fiji Teams always looked as favourites for the tournament but Vatukoula NZ and the two Australian teams matched the Fijian counter parts to a large extent.
From Pool A, Labasa Fiji and BA Fiji came out as winner and runner-up respectively and qualified for the semi-finals.
In Pool B, Nadi Fiji, the defending champion, was declared winner, with AFSA Sydney as runner-up.
Labasa Fiji defeated AFSA Sydney in the first semi-final by three goals to two to book their place in the final.
Nadi Fiji defeated BA Fiji in the other semi-final (one-zero) to fix their date with Labasa Fiji in the final.
Tense final
The Final was played in a tense environment, with both teams taking a cautious approach, Nadi Fiji found its chance in the seven-minute play capitalising on a loose ball in the Labasa box to strike for goal.
Labasa Fiji came back firing but the Nadi defence and goalkeeper held their ground throughout the 60 minutes to deny Labasa Fiji any score.
Nadi Fiji retained the Cup for the second time in a row.
Award winners
The Best Goalkeeper Award went to Benaminio of Nadi Fiji, while Mohit Krishna of Nadi Fiji was declared the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
Abbu Zaheed received the Golden Boot Award for scoring six goals in the tournament. Queensland was voted the Best Disciplined Team of the tournament.
More than 3000 people witnessed the final game, among who were Oceania Football President David Chung, and other officials.
2014 in Sydney
Pacific Cup 2013 Chairman Mohammed Yusuf said that the tournament underscored the cordial relationship that exists among Fiji FA, AFSA and NZ Fiji Football Inc and that it was heart-warming to have the presence of Oceania Football executives.
Australian Fiji Soccer Association will host the Pacific Cup Tournament 2014 in Sydney, as confirmed by its President Nick Sharma.
Two teams will qualify for the Pacific Cup 2014 from New Zealand. They will compete with four teams each from Australia and Fiji.
Veteran Soccer
With a successful event of this magnitude, New Zealand Fiji Football Inc looks forward to a bigger and better International Veterans Soccer Tournament at Bill McKinlay Park during the Auckland Anniversary weekend in January 2014.
