 Sami became known nationally as a brilliant soccer player when he, together with three of his brothers (known as the Sami brothers), helped lift his home soccer district team of Labasa from a struggling first division side to a serious contender for the Fiji Football Association competitions in the premier division, in the 1970s.Jagannath Sami's soccer career started when he first represented the Lautoka soccer team in 1972, playing his first game in that year's Pala Cup against Suva.The following year he represented the Nadogo Soccer Association, a second division district team from Vanua Levu, as player/coach and helped the team win the second division Inter District Soccer Trophy for the first time.