President Dr Muhammed Shams-Ud-Dean Sahu Khan, chief executive officer Bob Kumar and senior vice-president Dr Hari Kewal travelled to South Africa to attend the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Extraordinary Congress and the 60th FIFA Congress.
While in Johannesburg they managed to get their hands on an Adidas Jabulani football – the official ball being used at the FIFA World Cup.
Kumar says the Jabulani will now be a prized possession at the Fiji FA headquarters.
“We are very lucky to bring one of them back,” he says.
“We were able to get it at the FIFA Congress and it is here at Fiji FA now. We will treasure it.”
The ball was developed at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom and was unveiled in Cape Town on December 4 last year.
Jabulani means ‘rejoice’ or ‘bring joy and happiness’ in Zulu.
The Jabulani was used as the match ball of the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates and a special version of the ball, the Jabulani Angola, was the match ball of the 2010 African Cup of Nations. This ball was also used in the 2010 Clausura Tournament of Argentina, as well as the 2010 MLS season in the USA and Canada in the league’s colours of blue and green.
It is also set to be used during the 2010-11 Bundesliga in Germany.
Kumar says members of the Fiji FA are delighted to have a Jabulani of their own because the ball will go down in history and is likely to be something the 2010 tournament is remembered for.
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