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By Kevin Estrada
MANILA -- BULA TO EVERYONE.
For Fiji manager Christophe Gamel, Thursday night's friendly away at the Philippines will be a great learning experience for them as he hopes that he will bring the sport a newfound relevance in the rugby-mad Pacific Island.
With the Frenchman reuniting with Thomas Dooley for the first time in over two decades, he hopes that the Bula Boys will get much needed lessons in football, especially with the core of the team are composed of part-timers with Roy Krishna the lone full-time professional for the Bula Boys.
"The [Philippine] team is far ahead in the FIFA ranking from us, but we take it as a good challenge. We come here to take experience," Gamel quoted, as he leads the 168th-ranked side against the hosts who are 46 places above them.
He added that the friendly gave them the opportunity to play against opponents outside of the Oceania confederation, as well as looking forward to the future endeavors after creating history by appearing for the Olympics for the very first time two years ago.
"I would like to organize a tournament in June during the World Cup, and we also have the September-November windows in preparation for the Pacific Games next year," he further commented, as he pin his hopes with the youth-oriented squad.
For Fiji manager Christophe Gamel, Thursday night's friendly away at the Philippines will be a great learning experience for them as he hopes that he will bring the sport a newfound relevance in the rugby-mad Pacific Island.
With the Frenchman reuniting with Thomas Dooley for the first time in over two decades, he hopes that the Bula Boys will get much needed lessons in football, especially with the core of the team are composed of part-timers with Roy Krishna the lone full-time professional for the Bula Boys.
"The [Philippine] team is far ahead in the FIFA ranking from us, but we take it as a good challenge. We come here to take experience," Gamel quoted, as he leads the 168th-ranked side against the hosts who are 46 places above them.
He added that the friendly gave them the opportunity to play against opponents outside of the Oceania confederation, as well as looking forward to the future endeavors after creating history by appearing for the Olympics for the very first time two years ago.
"I would like to organize a tournament in June during the World Cup, and we also have the September-November windows in preparation for the Pacific Games next year," he further commented, as he pin his hopes with the youth-oriented squad.
Follow him on Twitter: @KevinLEstrada
