TAKING ON THE NEW CHALLENGE

New Zealand has been his second home and a footballer is what his homeland Solomon Islands calls him but Michael Fifi’i or currently known in the musical industry as Fiakal has turned into one of the up-coming Solomon Islands musician in the music scene.

Michael has featured for Solomon Islands internationally in the national football team and is a well-known footballing name in Wellington city in New Zealand. The Malaitan soft spoken lad has come a long way and continue to shine in his days in New Zealand not only as a footballer but now as the new singer on the block. Solomon Islands have been well-known for producing many of the top musicians in the pacific and Michael is determined to follow in the footsteps of some of successful Solomon Islands musician. He has succeeded to a very top level of football in New Zealand clubs but he has bigger plans as he follows his love for music and giving many smiles to the faces of the people who listen to his songs.

In my interview with Michael, I am quiet humbled by this young man’s story and definitely someone that is full of passion for what he does.

 What got you into becoming a musician?

To be honest, I can't actually remember much about how I started. I believe I met Blad P2A of the band DMP once and he asked me to come to shefram studio one time and I met with him n Dehvande. From there, after seeing how they interact with music and people, it really got to me the idea of trying music out myself. I think from there on I was also talking to Baka Solomon and he's been the most influential person throughout my musical career so far. 

Do you have any particular individual or people that influenced you into music?

As I have mentioned earlier, Baka Solomon (Masilobo Jack) is been the most influential person in my musical career. He always been straight up with me to do the right things. Secondly, Dehvandeh is the person who always encourage me to keep going and always tell me not to listen to negative comments and also not forgetting my Miramar Rangers football teammates who always keeps me going.

How do you find the transition from an all-time footballer to a musician?

It's not an easy transformation to be honest. I find it quiet difficult at the beginning because I don't know how to relate myself to music when it comes to writing songs or connecting with the audience. 

With football I know that I can entertain and I can connect with my teammates. It's easy for me to grab a soccer ball and entertain my team mates or crowd if I have to but with music it takes so much courage to be able to stand on the stage n relate yourself to the crowd or audience because it's not something I practice every day as for me, growing up I always like playing football. 

What would be your biggest achievement as a musician to date?

I would say that my biggest achievement to date would be back when cyclone Pam destroyed Vanuatu, myself and Lady G.A (Grace Andrews, Solomon Islands icon 2011) performed to raise money as part of our contribution towards the rebuilding of Vanuatu.

What is your future goals in the music industry?

To possibly make an album of my own. This is my ultimate goal and if I do so, I think I can go further from there given the opportunity to do so. 

You used to play football for quiet a while and have represented Solomon Islands on a number of international venues, what are your future plans in regards to football?

My aim and dream is to one day go back to the rural areas of the Solomon Islands and encourage youths from their early age to interact with football and help them understand what football can benefit them in future if they have the passion for it. Also I want to build a relationship with oversea clubs to see if they can bring talented footballers from solomons to play out here. 

You have been living in New Zealand for quiet sometime. What do you like about New Zealand?

New Zealand is such a unique country. It is very multi-cultural and very peaceful. The scenery of the countryside is one of the most adorable part of this country. And another attractive part about NZ is the Maori culture. The passion of the Maori people towards their culture is probably the best I have ever seen in my entire life. U can't go wrong in their Haka. 

Many people know you as Michael but currently, you have taken on this new nick name FIAKAL as your name in your songs. Can you tell us how you get the name?

This name was given to me by Baka Solomon on the day I become the part of shefram Crew. FI is simply for Fifi'i which is my local surname and KAL- is for Michael which made up to FIAKAL.  

As a very influential character, what are some of your personal goals a part from your music and football ones?

I would say I just want try to go as further as possible. But I'll let my happiness control my way up. Which means as long as I'm happy with what I'm doing, that's what matters the most. 

There are many young Solomon Islanders both footballers and musician coming up the pathway many similar individuals like you have come through. What would be your advice for them as they began their journey in life?

Hard work, confidence, self-discipline and being passionate is the key to succeed in your journey. Don't wait for tomorrow. Do it now and do it right. Don't rely on anyone to do things for you, you yourself should know what you are capable of. Think outside the box, don't think that you done enough, there's more out there than you think you know. Finally, do not forget to put things in prayer and ask God for his help.

Michael who recently moved from Wellington city to Auckland city is working daily and also enjoy a little bit of football and more of music in his normal routine these days. Michael has featured for some very top footballing teams in Solomon Islands and New Zealand. Below is Michael’s record for his footballing career. 

KG6 Snails

KOSSA FC

Richmond athletic FC (NZ)

Rangers FC (NZ)

Coastal Spirit FC (NZ)

Nelson Suburbs (NZ)

Christchurch United (NZ)

StopOut FC (NZ)

Miramar Rangers (NZ)

                                          

NZ NATIONAL LEAGUE 

Cantebury Dragons United

Team Wellington

National Rep. 

Solomon Islands national U15

Solomon Islands national U16

Solomon Islands national U17

Solomon Islands national U20

Solomon Islands national U23

Solomon Islands national men's team.

All the best to Michael as he continue his career in football and more especially in his music.

HOPE IS IN THE YOUTH TEAMS

Solomon Islands have come far in football, having played almost every nation in the pacific and creating a reputation for being amongst the top footballing nation in the pacific. Recently, the sport that have taken flight all over Solomon Islands is the game of futsal. The futsal game is a smaller code of football and involves five players on the court and using a weighted ball, they play in almost similar game time as other shorter games such as basketball, handball and netball. The game has been welcomed well in the isles of Solomon Islands and although it has come few years back, Solomon Islands compared to other nation in the futsal game is still a child growing up.

One of the biggest achievement and even a surprise that Solomon Island has shown to the world is by playing in the FIFA Futsal World Cup not only once but three times and also feature one of the youngest side in any FIFA Futsal World Cup. The most emotional and inspirational story to the Solomon Islands national futsal team known as Kurukuru is that these players have been together since they started the game. Known as the pioneers of futsal, they have continued to show the pacific region their dominance and this winning spirit started right back to their first outing in Australian State Futsal Championship when they were in the U12 category. Elliot Ragomo, Jack Wetney and Francis Lafai are amongst the first players who were in that squad and they are still currently playing in the current Kurukuru side. The pacific is now home to many futsal countries as many countries have seen the beauty of the game and how it is a global international game. New Zealand, Tahiti and Solomon Islands are amongst the top teams in the pacific and they keep on improving although Solomon Islands have the upper hand in skill and talent for the game of futsal.

Many years down the road and Solomon Islands have again regained their pride in the U12 category again after successfully winning the 2017 Australian Futsal State Championship. This time a new generation of futsal players have emerged and the question to be asked is what are the responsible football body of Solomon Islands will do to sustain such promising talents? Solomon Islands have had a history of creating a lot of talent in the youth futsal especially the U12 categories but later on the players and teams slowly disappeared. There are many reasons behind the disappearance of such promising teams and one general reason that is quiet obvious is that Solomon Islanders themselves failed to motivate, guide and install good values for these youth teams to continue on. The future of futsal in the Solomon Islands is looking great but the possibility of the future slipping away is also high and that is something worth considering. The current national U12 Solomon Islands team have definitely proven to the pacific countries that Solomon Islands have some awesome reinforcement for the current Kurukuru team when it disappears in the future. It is ripe time for proper management, guidance and assistance for this current youth players both U12 and U14 as they are the very future in this game. A game that Solomon Islands is not only good at but is the current pacific champions.

Solomon Islands people should be proud of the achievement they have achieved when it comes to futsal as now the pacific recognizes Solomon Islands as the top futsal country and have also set their mark in the world stage. Indeed, youth teams are the way forward in regards for development and also the future of the game. Solomon Islands can still achieve more and go to great heights in this game. Congratulations to the current U12 national team for winning the U12 competition in Australia.

picture taken from Latest Soccer News in Solomon Islands page