Marked for Jitoko Vulava
From our football correspondent
Steady
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Labasa close the window on a squad of their own making
12 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.
Market7 Sep 2026
So close: Jitoko Vulava’s move dies late
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Rewa moved on, Jitoko Vulava reports back to Labasa, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Labasa 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Labasa
Sekove Naivakananumi 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Labasa
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilaisa Vulimainavuso was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Sep 2026
International break empties Labasa
5 call-ups is a compliment to the squad and a headache for the man running it. He will get them back in a fortnight, tired, in various states of repair.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match26 Aug 2026
The small margins put Labasa out
Out, 1‑3 to Nasinu, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Market31 Aug 2026
“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 The request is on a desk at Labasa, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
No thanks: Epeli Lal rejects the move
Labasa had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Rewa, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad31 Aug 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 Labasa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market31 Aug 2026
The Jitoko Vulava conversation is coming
Everyone has stopped pretending: Rewa will make the call about Jitoko Vulava this week. Labasa have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑3 Rusiate Lal left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad31 Aug 2026
5 new faces, and Labasa are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
Nobody at Labasa 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
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
The deal with Nadroga is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Labasa asked and Rewa said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Labasa
Akeimi Ralulu 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Labasa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilaisa Vulimainavuso 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.
Market17 Aug 2026
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Luke Savu may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Labasa, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Rewa is saying, and nobody at Labasa is enjoying the guessing.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
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.
Squad10 Aug 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 Labasa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Josaia Ravai has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Sakaraia Jale has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Jale Ravai has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Patrick Nawalu has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Labasa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Joji Vuakaca 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Labasa would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Aug 2026
“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 Labasa, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Sitiveni Rakai and Labasa agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Labasa
Iowane Matanisiga 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Labasa
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilaisa Vulimainavuso was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
5 new faces, and Labasa are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.