Marked for Voniani Smith
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad29 Nov 2027
Filipe Baravilala damages knee ligaments — 97 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 97 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
This is not rotation. Ali Mekawir has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Navua is pretending otherwise.
Squad29 Nov 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Navua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Nov 2027
A row about effort at Navua
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ali Mekawir was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad29 Nov 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Lucas Caruana and Navua agree another 3 years.
Boardroom29 Nov 2027
Belts tighten at Navua
The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Nov 2027
Filipe Baravilala damages knee ligaments — 104 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 104 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Tempers go at Navua
Jack Landreth was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Navua training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ali Mekawir is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad22 Nov 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Miguel Spiteri commits to Navua for another 3 years.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
No hiding place for Jack Wale
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jack Wale, and the manager let it.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
Voniani Smith knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Navua, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Nov 2027
111 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Navua lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Zainal Ali breaks a bone — 17 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 17 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market15 Nov 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Navua is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Ben Gaerty is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Words exchanged at Navua
Jack Landreth and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Zainal Ali, and the manager let it.
Market15 Nov 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Ali Mekawir’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
Shofwaan Ali has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Navua will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Match15 Nov 2027
Navua in the hunt for Europe
Position 5, 25 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Oct 2027
134 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Navua lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad11 Oct 2027
53 days out for Zainal Ali after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Navua will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad11 Oct 2027
A falling-out at Navua
Ali Mekawir and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad11 Oct 2027
A row about effort at Navua
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jared Rongosulia was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Ali Mekawir gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ali Mekawir is on it.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Voniani Smith knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Voniani Smith trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad13 Sep 2027
Zainal Ali breaks a bone — 84 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 84 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad13 Sep 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jack Landreth and Navua agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad13 Sep 2027
A falling-out at Navua
Ali Mekawir and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets13 Sep 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Jared Rongosulia falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Voniani Smith, and the manager let it.
Market13 Sep 2027
Signings arrive with a picture of the club in their head, and this one’s picture was bigger than the building. He will play well and he will be gone, in that order, and everybody knows it.
Market13 Sep 2027
The Marlon Raju conversation is coming
Everyone has stopped pretending: Nasinu will make the call about Marlon Raju this week. Navua have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
Ali Mekawir has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Navua will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market23 Aug 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Navua have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
Voniani Smith: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Navua have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Words exchanged at Navua
Ali Mekawir and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets23 Aug 2027
Navua asked and Nadi said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Filipe Baravilala falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
Zainal Ali gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
Jack Landreth knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jack Landreth trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market23 Aug 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Ali Mekawir’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Aug 2027
Ali Mekawir in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Navua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Rewa have kept their man, and Navua go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Loan watch9 Aug 2027
“I watch every Navua game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Nadroga runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Shofwaan Ali and Navua agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Boardroom9 Aug 2027
Belts tighten at Navua
The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.
Market9 Aug 2027
The Zainal Ali talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Navua know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout19 Jul 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Navua may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Navua
Vinal Prasad was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad19 Jul 2027
A row about effort at Navua
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ali Mekawir was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market19 Jul 2027
The phone has started ringing about Marlon Raju again, and this time the name on the line is Nasinu. Navua are listening politely and promising nothing.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
Ali Mekawir gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ali Mekawir is on it.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Matthew Charitar trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market19 Jul 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Navua know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market19 Jul 2027
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market5 Jul 2027
Ali Mekawir hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Navua can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Ali Mekawir takes the match ball home
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Player ratings5 Jul 2027
Monit Chand, 37, rolls back the years — 7.88
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.88 at 37, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Navua
Ali Mekawir was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match3 Jul 2027
Three points for Navua, 3‑1 the final word against Tailevu Naitasiri in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad5 Jul 2027
A row about effort at Navua
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Filipe Baravilala was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces5 Jul 2027
Navua supporters have found a favourite in Voniani Smith
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Voniani Smith has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
Zainal Ali gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Navua told Kolinio Sivoki something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match16 Jun 2027
The small margins put Navua out
Out, 1‑3 to Rewa, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Player ratings21 Jun 2027
A brace, and Ali Mekawir takes the afternoon — 8.80
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ali Mekawir provided it, and the 8.80 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market21 Jun 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad21 Jun 2027
A falling-out at Navua
Ali Mekawir and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Jun 2027
A muscle injury sidelines Arami Manumanubhai for 16 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Navua will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match19 Jun 2027
Navua refuse to lose to Ba
A point taken on 87 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Navua pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Match19 Jun 2027
It needed Ali Mekawir to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Ba, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad15 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Navua
Ali Mekawir and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad15 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Navua
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Filipe Baravilala was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match13 Mar 2027
Three points for Navua, 1‑0 the final word against Nadi in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Marked 8.10 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
Ali Mekawir gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ali Mekawir is on it.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market15 Mar 2027
The name of Kolinio Sivoki keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Navua say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Window shuts: 4 in, 1 out at Navua
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 4 arrived, 1 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Squad1 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Navua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Nadi have kept their man, and Navua go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Ali Mekawir falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Labasa have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
Zainal Ali gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Hayyaan Khan moves up the pecking order
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Navua than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
Market1 Feb 2027
Ali Mekawir linked with a move away
The name of Ali Mekawir keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Navua say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Is this Monit Chand’s last season?
“I will know when it is time. I am not there yet.” Monit Chand is 36, with 36 appearances behind him, and Navua will have to plan for whichever answer comes.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market25 Jan 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Navua people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Squad25 Jan 2027
A move Jack Landreth would have made for nothing
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Jack Landreth is living that version at Navua, and it tends to show in the first month.
Market25 Jan 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Navua, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad25 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Navua
Ali Mekawir and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Market25 Jan 2027
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
A loan move for Tuimasi Cama is in the works
Navua have made the call to Suva. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Squad25 Jan 2027
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Navua training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Reeshab Permal is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Dec 2026
Ali Mekawir in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Navua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Zainal Ali and Navua agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at Navua training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Reeshab Permal is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market30 Nov 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Navua is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad30 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Navua
Ali Mekawir and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Simione Damuni out for 99 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Navua will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Ali Mekawir falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad9 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Navua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market9 Nov 2026
Ali Mekawir linked with a move away
The name of Ali Mekawir keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Navua say nothing, which says plenty.
Market9 Nov 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Navua, another week without a signature from Voniani Smith.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad2 Nov 2026
106 days out for Simione Damuni after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Navua will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market2 Nov 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Navua they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Navua
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ali Mekawir was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Zainal Ali
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market2 Nov 2026
Navua and Zainal Ali are talking past each other
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Shofwaan Ali gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Shofwaan Ali is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Oct 2026
A fracture rules Simione Damuni out for 113 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Navua will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad26 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Navua this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Arami Manumanubhai's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Oct 2026
Simione Damuni breaks a bone — 120 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 120 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market19 Oct 2026
Zainal Ali has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Navua they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Navua
Ali Mekawir was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Oct 2026
A fracture rules Simione Damuni out for 134 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Navua will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market5 Oct 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Usaia Tilivarua will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Navua the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Navua
Ali Mekawir and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
Shofwaan Ali has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Navua will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Squad5 Oct 2026
He goes off to be somebody else’s player for a fortnight. Navua lose him for the window and would like him returned in the condition he left.
Squad5 Oct 2026
He goes off to be somebody else’s player for a fortnight. Navua lose him for the window and would like him returned in the condition he left.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Tailevu Naitasiri is saying, and nobody at Navua is enjoying the guessing.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Tailevu Naitasiri have kept their man, and Navua go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market14 Sep 2026
Ali Mekawir linked with a move away
The name of Ali Mekawir keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Navua say nothing, which says plenty.
Market14 Sep 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Navua, another week without a signature from Voniani Smith.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
Zainal Ali knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Zainal Ali trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market14 Sep 2026
Still no signature from Zainal Ali
4 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Navua could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Navua close the window on a squad of their own making
14 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Ba is saying, and nobody at Navua is enjoying the guessing.
Market7 Sep 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Navua they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Navua
Jared Rongosulia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market7 Sep 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Navua, another week without a signature from Zainal Ali.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
Shofwaan Ali gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Shofwaan Ali is on it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
Zainal Ali knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Zainal Ali trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market7 Sep 2026
4 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Navua money.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Filipe Baravilala commits to Navua for another 3 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Navua
Ali Mekawir and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market3 Aug 2026
36 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to Ba: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
Tailevu Naitasiri have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Market3 Aug 2026
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Vineet Chand has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Navua.