Vanuatu’s women’s national football team will face the Solomon Islands today, Thursday 17 September, in its opening match of the MSG Prime Ministers Cup.

The match will kick off at 3pm local time at FC Bank Stadium in Suva, Fiji.

Vanuatu’s men’s national team will play its opening match tomorrow, Friday 18 September, against Papua New Guinea.

Head of the Vanuatu delegation, Harry Atisson, says both teams are focused on their opening matches despite challenges faced since arriving in Fiji.

“The challenges the team is facing include accommodation, and another issue is water,” Atisson said.

He says team management continues to support the players and is working with authorities to resolve the water issue.

Despite the challenges, Atisson says the teams remain focused on their matches.

The men’s team will face PNG at 2pm Fiji time, or 1pm Vanuatu time, tomorrow.

The match will be a rematch of last year’s grand final, which Vanuatu won.

Vanuatu head coach Iwai says several top players have not joined the men’s squad for this year’s tournament.

Despite this, he says he trusts the players currently in the squad to deliver.

The coach says this year’s team has more quality, but its performance will depend on how the players perform during the MSG Prime Ministers Cup.