Post-retirement blues in the shadow of Joe Tubuna: the post-retirement struggles of Fiji’s indigenous soccer elite

Abstract

This article uses the qualitative 'narrative analysis' method to explore and reflect upon the post-retirement issues faced by a small sample of Fiji elite ex-national-league soccer players. The sample consists of one Indo-Fijian and six indigenous Fijians. All experience lives of practical poverty and, for the indigenous men, their lives are defined by village customary routines and obligations. Perhaps surprisingly, the experiences of the Indo-Fijian ex-player are not too dissimilar because he shares social-class affiliation with his interviewed ex-teammates. The bonds between these ex-players remain strong and the ex-legend Joe Tubuna, killed in a motor-vehicle accident in 1984, still casts a presence which links them to the past, to the land, and to each other via the medium of shared localized memories.

“They Couldn’t Win and Didn’t Want to Lose”: The 1982 Inter-District Championship Final (Fiji Soccer)

“…Tubuna had been killed in a motor vehicle accident, on a deserted stretch of highway between Ba and Tavua after returning from a nurses' dance held in the latter township. 56 (This accident effectively ended the playing careers of teammates Inia "Golden Boot" Bola and Semi Tabaiwalu, and relegated Ba to a minor player for several seasons.) Tubuna still cast a shadow over all the interviewed ex-players 33 years later in 2015.…”

Sporting the government: Sportspersons' engagement with causes in India and the USA on twitter

“…Individual sportspersons, including those outside some of these sports who capture public attention, are often important public figures who are influential in a range of spheres outside their immediate expertise. Depending on the country and sport, individual sportspersons' public lives may extend well beyond their immediate playing years (James & Nadan, 2020). Having popular positions can further a sportsperson's immediate career but affect their post‐sporting career through alignment with adversarial framings (Boykoff & Carrington, 2020).…”

Creating Deviance: Criminality and Elite Amateur Soccer in the Fiji Islands, 1975-2015

“…Fijians of South Asian descent) coaches and administrators, of the business-class, may also be involved, as indigenous Fijian players feel that these people have more life-chances than them, and hence they are unwilling to adhere to their dictates while overseas where local status hierarchies are weaker and hence capable of being challenged. Indigenous ex-players also often perceive that their chances of moving into coaching or administrative positions post-retirement are slimmer for them than for their Indo-Fijian counterparts (James & Nadan, 2020). Indo-Fijian managers and journalists complain about the indigenous players' ill-discipline and drunkenness, and do not attempt to look at sociological or psychological causes of the events.…”