10 Feb 2015

Sport: Frank Farina in charge of Fiji U20s following coaching switch

3:17 pm on 10 February 2015

The former Australia and Papua New Guinea football coach Frank Farina will take charge of Fiji at the Under 20 World Cup in New Zealand, following a coaching switch.

Farina joined the Fiji coaching staff in September as a technical advisor to head coach Ravinesh Kumar but the pair have swapped roles just a few months out from the start of the tournament.

The President of the Fiji Football Association, Rajesh Patel, says the move is a win-win for all parties, with Kumar being groomed to be the country's next technical director.

"So we thought the switch might be best right now. Both of them were consulted with everything and Ravinesh was very happy with it too, that he would like to see his career path stay with Fiji Football. He knows the limitations and everything - Frank is a professional coach and he is happy that he will be learning with him too when he is coaching and everything. At the same time he will [still] be involved with the team - he will be sitting on the bench with Frank and everything - so they will be consulting each other".

The Fiji team leaves on Friday for games against fellow World Cup finalists Myanmar and Uzbekistan as well as three games in Malaysia, while a tour of the USA is also in the works.

Meanwhile the draw for the Under 20 World Cup takes place on Tuesday evening.