A tentative national men's soccer squad have been selected and will soon be called to start training as the coach arrives in the country.

This was revealed on Monday by the SIFF General Secretary, Eddie Ngava, when journalists asked him why the public were kept in the dark concerning the men's soccer team.

Mr. Ngava said that SIFF had already identified 30 names for the national men's squad for the Pacific games. Ten of the tentative names are overseas based players.

Ngava however, is finding it difficult to meet the deadline set by the Pacific games charter enforced by NOCSI that teams should submit the names of their squad member by 18th of May.

The general secretary said that the deadline is too early for soccer or any team sport for that matter. He gave the example that if he submitted the final team list to the PG committee and one of the names in the list is injured or cannot make it for some reasons, then we will find it difficult to replace that player.
"An ideal date would be around June or July. May 18th is too early because the games is still in August", said Ngava. Ngava said he is at the moment liaising with NOCSI to see if the dateline could be different for soccer or team sports.

In another development, the national soccer coach is expected in the country, Tuesday 15th May. The coach who was expected in the country last month delayed his return because his 3 month visitor's permit has expired. The general secretary said, SIFF has applied for a work permit for the national coach and all the paperwork has come through and is being finalized.