From Real Kakamora to Nasinu: Paul Francis fuels another underdog run

Paul Francis has found himself at the centre of another football story few would have predicted. Two years after becoming one of the main figures in Real Kakamora’s extraordinary rise in the Solomon Islands S-League, the attacker is now helping Nasinu challenge the established order in Fiji, with the Giant Killers reaching the Battle of the Giants semifinals for the first time in seven years.

Nasinu were hardly mentioned among the main contenders before the tournament began. The side entered the BOG without a major sponsor and with considerably less expectation than teams such as Rewa, Ba, Suva and defending champions Labasa. An opening 1-0 defeat to Labasa appeared to reinforce that status, but Nasinu responded by defeating Navua 1-0 before producing their biggest result of the competition so far against Suva.

Francis provided the breakthrough in the decisive 2-1 victory over the Capital City side. The Solomon Islands attacker opened the scoring in the 18th minute, beating goalkeeper Jason Rokovucake before fellow Solomon Islander Gagame Feni quickly equalised for Suva. Nasinu captain Billy Afi, another Solomon Islands player, eventually scored the winner, leaving Nasinu on six points and forcing Labasa to chase a sizeable winning margin against Navua that the defending champions could not achieve.

For Francis, there is something familiar about the circumstances. His emergence at Real Kakamora came during one of the most remarkable turnarounds in recent Solomon Islands football. Kakamora had lost every one of their 22 S-League matches in 2023, conceding 116 goals, before rebuilding almost their entire squad for the following campaign. Francis became one of the faces of the new team, scoring twice on his debut against Solomon Warriors and playing an important part as Kakamora went from the bottom of the league to an unprecedented third-place finish. (Oceania Football Center)

His numbers reflected how important he became. Francis scored 17 goals in 20 S-League appearances during the 2024 season, finishing among the leading scorers in the country as Kakamora developed a huge online following and became one of the most talked-about clubs in Pacific football. His performances also earned him involvement with the Solomon Islands national setup as his reputation grew beyond the domestic competition.

The Kakamora story then changed abruptly. At the beginning of 2025, the club was denied a renewed S-League licence and was left outside the competition despite its third-place finish the previous year. Francis was among the players forced to continue his career elsewhere, and his next destination was Nasinu. Fiji FA records show him already appearing for the club during the opening stages of the 2025 Premier League season. (Oceania Football Center)

The move did not stop his scoring. Francis finished his first Fijian league campaign with 10 goals, giving him the third-highest scoring total in the 2025 Fiji Premier League behind only John Orobulu and France Catarogo. It was an impressive return for a Nasinu side that eventually finished ninth in the ten-team competition, with Francis providing a significant portion of their attacking output. Among his standout performances was a hat-trick against Nadi, while he also scored twice when Nasinu defeated the same opposition later in the season.

His 2026 Premier League campaign has been quieter in terms of goals, with Fiji FA listing Francis with two during the season. The BOG, however, has offered another stage for him to make an impact, and his goal against Suva carried considerably more weight than an ordinary league strike. It came in the match that ultimately pushed Nasinu beyond defending champions Labasa and into the final four.

There is also a wider Solomon Islands influence behind Nasinu’s success. Afi has been particularly decisive, scoring the only goal against Navua before producing the winner against Suva, while Francis supplied the other goal in the match that sealed qualification. Their contributions form part of an increasingly visible Solomon Islands presence in Fijian football, with players such as Feni and Orobulu also making major contributions during this year’s BOG.

Nasinu now face perhaps their greatest challenge of the tournament. Rewa, one of Fiji’s strongest sides in recent seasons, await in Saturday’s semifinal at Govind Park. Nasinu have never won the Battle of the Giants, finishing runners-up in 1989 and 1991, and their previous semifinal appearance came in 2019, when Labasa eventually defeated them in extra time.

That leaves the Giant Killers once again entering a major match without carrying the weight of favouritism. It is also exactly the sort of setting in which Francis first built his reputation. At Real Kakamora, he became a central figure in a team that went from losing every match to challenging near the top of the Solomon Islands. After being forced to leave that project behind, he has taken his goals to Fiji and now finds himself involved in another unlikely run.

From Kakamora to Nasinu, the surroundings have changed. The pattern has not: Paul Francis is once again helping an underdog make people pay attention.