Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says the Coalition Government wants to inspire proud patriotism in the country by backing up the Fiji Water Flying Fijians ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup opener on Monday.
While sports is a fast growing global business with huge economic opportunities, Rabuka said in the past, the Government may have missed the opportunity to forge genuine partnerships with sporting organisations, technical industry specialists, businesses and Universities to capture, harness and mobilise an elite class of athletes and sporting managers and coaches who can walk confidently onto the world stage, earn good money and promote Fiji.
“We all know that sports bring people together. It improves public health and therefore national productivity. We therefore must turn our aspirations for sporting excellence into reality.”
“Our well-earned sevens gold medalist Olympians and that triumph against all odds was also Fiji’s victory, our victory. But we missed the golden opportunity in which to inject sustainable sporting transformations to inspire the necessary incubation of a whole sporting ecosystem that is indeed Fiji made or made in Fiji.”
While the FRU is being sorted out by the interim board, Rabuka hopes that a National Rugby World Cup 2023 campaign will trigger the start of a new approach to sports which the Coalition Government is committed to.
“Rather than perpetuate winners only through a transactional or transactional mind-set, we want to inspire proud patriotism. This is appropriate, given one of Fiji’s key pool matches will be played one day before we celebrate our 53rd year of independence on the 10th of October.”
“The coalition Government is confident about our Fiji Water Flying Fijians team and their current trajectory to bring Fiji global acclaim.”
The Flying Fijians match against Wales will kick start at 7am in Bordeaux, France.
