FIFA chief congratulates Ba after historic Fiji treble

Ba’s remarkable domestic season has received recognition from FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who sent a congratulatory letter after the club won Fiji’s National League title. The Fiji Times reported that the message was addressed to Fiji Football Association president Rajesh Patel and celebrated Ba’s sustained performances across the campaign.

Infantino highlighted the team’s discipline and results, saying their work over the season had earned them an important title. His message recognised the players and wider team behind Ba’s success rather than treating the championship as an isolated achievement.

For Ba Football Association president Dayal, the letter carried significance well beyond the wording of an official FIFA communication. He said it represented the commitment of the club’s players, coaches, executives, supporters, sponsors and families, all of whom had helped create the season’s success.

A treble with a modern distinction

Ba completed a rare sweep of Fiji’s principal domestic competitions by winning the Extra Premier League, the BiC Fiji FACT and the Battle of the Giants. The club sealed the final part of that treble with a 2-1 victory over Rewa at 4R Stadium, Govind Park, in the 2026 Extra BOG final.

Praneel Naidu and Penisoni Tirau scored for Ba, while Merrill Nand replied for Rewa. The result gave Ba an 18th Battle of the Giants title, extending its record in the competition.

The achievement echoes a previous Ba treble in 2006, but the two accomplishments were secured under different tournament conditions. Fiji’s major competitions were then played as 60-minute matches. Since the format changed to full 90-minute games in 2013, Ba’s 2026 treble stands alone as the first of its kind in the modern era.

The club’s route through the Battle of the Giants also included a setback. Rewa beat Ba 3-0 in the group phase, but Ba stayed alive by defeating Lautoka 3-1. It then edged Suva 2-1 in the semi-final, despite spending part of the match with 10 players, before overcoming Rewa in the final and reversing the earlier result.

Ending long waits

Ba’s success in the other two competitions also carried its own history. The club ended a 16-year wait for the Fiji FACT trophy by beating Navua in a penalty shootout after the final finished without a goal. It later ended a seven-year gap between National League championships.

Together, those victories made the season one of the most significant in Ba’s history. The campaign also marked Dayal’s first year leading the association, adding to the importance of the achievement for the club’s administration.

Dayal credited head coach Ravinesh Kumar, the squad, team officials, commercial backers, relatives and supporters for sustaining the effort. He described FIFA’s acknowledgement as encouragement to develop Ba further, while stressing that the honours belonged to the wider association rather than one individual.

The FIFA letter follows a season in which Ba’s results have made the club prominent beyond Fiji’s domestic football scene. Infantino’s intervention gave international visibility to a run that had already established a new benchmark in the country’s modern tournament history.

One trophy remains

Ba’s season is not yet complete. The Men in Black will next target the FMF Inter-District Championship, scheduled for next month. They narrowly missed that trophy last year after losing the final to Rewa.

Winning the IDC would complete all four major domestic titles in a single season. That prospect gives Ba another opportunity to extend a campaign that has already matched the club’s 2006 treble while surpassing it in the context of Fiji’s full-length tournament format.

The club enters that competition with the confidence of having recovered from a group-stage defeat, overcome a semi-final challenge while short-handed and defeated the same opponent in a final. A fourth major title would turn a historic treble into an unprecedented clean sweep for the modern era.