Battle of the Giants (Fiji)

The Battle of the Giants is a football competition held every year, under the auspices of the Fiji Football Association in which the top district teams take part.

The competition, which started in 1978, was due to the foresight of J.D. Maharaj, who saw it as a way of earning money for cash starved football associations in Fiji. This was the first time that a football competition in Fiji was sponsored by businesses. The competition has been held every year except 1987, when restrictions placed by the military government on organised competitions on Sunday led to all soccer competitions in Fiji being abandoned.

Nature of tournament

The top 10 district teams take part in the tournament. At present these teams are Ba F.C., Labasa F.C., Lautoka F.C., Nadi F.C., Nadroga, Nasinu, Navua, Rewa, Suva and Tavua. The teams are divided into two pools of five and each team plays all the other teams once, over three days. A win is worth three points, a draw one point and a loss no points. The top two teams in each pool qualify for the semi-finals, with the winner of each pool playing the runner-up of the other pool. The semi-finals and the final are played on the different days.

Champions

Year Venue Winner Runner-up Score Notes
1978BaNadiBa1 - 0-
1979LautokaBaRewa4 - 2Penalty kicks
1980BaNadiBa3 - 0-
1981LautokaBaLautoka2 - 0-
1982SuvaSuvaBa-Match awarded to Suva
1983NadiNadiLautoka1 - 0-
1984BaBaSuva1 - 0-
1985SuvaLautokaRewa3 - 0-
1986NadiNadiLabasa1 - 0-
1987----No competition due to coup
1988NadiSuvaBa4 - 3Penalty kicks
1989RewaNadrogaNasinu1 - 0-
1990BaBaSuva5 - 4Peanlity kicks
1991RewaNadrogaNasinu5 - 4Penalty kicks
1992LautokaBaLautoka1 - 0-
1993RewaBaLabasa1 - 0-
1994NadiRewaBa-Ba defaulted the Replay under Protest
1995SuvaSuvaNavua2 - 1-
1996BaNadiTavua3 - 1-
1997LabasaLabasaNadi1 - 0-
1998NadiBaNadi1 - 0-
1999LautokaBaTavua1 - 0-
2000LautokaBaLabasa2 - 0-
2001NadiBaLautoka2 - 0-
2002LabasaNadrogaLabasa2 - 1-
2003LautokaRewaBa1 - 0-
2004BaRewaNadi2 - 0-
2005SuvaNavuaRewa1-0-
2006NadiBaSuva2 - 1-
2007RewaBaNadi3 - 1Extra-Time
2008SuvaBaLabasa2 - 1-
2009LautokaBaLautoka1 - 0-
2010NadiRewaNavua1 - 0-
2011RewaRewaSuva4 - 3Penalty kicks
2012LautokaBaLabasa4 - 2Penalty kicks
2013BaBaLautoka3 - 1-
2014SuvaRewaLautoka2 - 1-
2015NausoriRewaBa2 - 0Ba left the ground in shame before the final whistle and didn't participate in presentation ceremony.
2016NausoriLautokaLabasa2 - 0Extra-Time
2017LautokaRewaNadi2 - 1
2018LautokaBaSuva2 - 0Extra-Time
2019LautokaLabasaLautoka1-0
2020LautokaREWASuva1-0

Most successful teams

Team Number of Wins Number of times runner-up
Ba F.C.177
Rewa F.C.93
Nadi F.C.55
Suva F.C.36
Nadroga F.C.30
Lautoka F.C.28
Labasa F.C.27
Navua F.C.12
Nasinu F.C.02
Tavua F.C.02
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.