From Fiji Golden Glove to sudden absence: questions grow over Sevanaia at IDC

Fiji international goalkeeper Isikeli Sevanaia Junior has suddenly disappeared from Ba’s squad at the 2026 FMF Inter-District Championship, with his absence attracting particular attention after Fiji FA confirmed that two Super Premier players were among six players suspended following positive drug tests on the tournament’s opening day.

Sevanaia was Ba’s starting goalkeeper when the Men in Black began their IDC campaign with a 2-1 victory over Lautoka on Tuesday. The official match record lists the Fiji international wearing the No.1 shirt and completing the opening fixture for Ba.

The situation changed completely only one day later.

For Ba’s second Group B match against Navua, Misiwani Nairube started in goal while Sevanaia was missing from the matchday squad altogether. He was not among the substitutes either.

More unusually, Ba did not select another recognised goalkeeper on the bench. Nairube was therefore the club’s only goalkeeper listed for the 2-2 draw, meaning Ba would have needed an outfield player to take the gloves had anything happened to him during the match.

There has so far been no official explanation from Ba Football Association regarding Sevanaia’s absence.

The timing, however, has inevitably created questions.

Fiji FA chief executive Mohammed Yusuf confirmed that six of the 60 players tested during the opening day of the IDC returned positive results. Two are from the Super Premier Division, one from the Premier Division and three from the Senior Division. All six have been suspended indefinitely and will take no further part in the competition while their cases proceed to the Fiji FA Disciplinary Committee.

Fiji FA has not officially released the identities of all six players, explaining that they must first be given the opportunity to respond through the disciplinary process.

That means there is currently no official confirmation that Sevanaia is one of the suspended players, and his absence alone cannot establish that connection.

However, his removal from the entire Ba matchday squad immediately after playing on the day the testing took place has made his situation one of the most closely watched developments around the tournament.

It is particularly striking because Sevanaia entered the IDC in excellent form and with his position at both club and international level firmly established.

Only days earlier, he had been named the Men’s Golden Glove winner at the MSG Prime Minister’s Cup, where he helped Fiji claim the Melanesian title with a 1-0 victory over Vanuatu in the final. Sevanaia kept another clean sheet in the decider as the Bula Boys ended a 26-year wait for a regional title.

His 2026 domestic season has also been highly successful. Sevanaia played a decisive role in Ba’s Fiji FACT triumph, saving two penalties in the shootout victory over Navua in the final and collecting the tournament’s Golden Glove award.

That makes the sudden switch particularly difficult to explain purely on sporting grounds. Ba went from starting one of Fiji’s leading goalkeepers in their opening IDC match to leaving him completely outside the squad less than 24 hours later — and did so without even naming a reserve goalkeeper.

For now, the distinction remains important: Sevanaia’s absence is confirmed; any connection between that absence and the positive drug tests remains unconfirmed publicly by Fiji FA or Ba.

Until either the association, the club or the player provides an explanation, his status remains unresolved.

What is already clear is that one of the most prominent goalkeepers in Fijian football has gone from winning an international Golden Glove and starting Ba’s IDC campaign to disappearing completely from the team sheet within a matter of days — at precisely the moment Fiji football is dealing with another major round of drug-related suspensions.