Fiji Football Headquarters Inauguration Postponed

By STAFF Reporter
November 20, 2011

FIJI FOOTBALL NEWS - Official opening of Football Association Headquarters and Regional Technical Center would not happen tomorrow, November 20, after a written directive for postpone received from Oceanic Football Confederation, said FA President Rajesh Patel.

The FA Headquarters and Regional Technical Centre will be housing the headquarters, accommodation, training and dining facilities of the FIFA. The development is part of FIFA Goal Project II.

According to Patel, the OFC official who was likely to be present in the opening of the center is reported in media of a possible legal action, which has made the directive to the postponement of the date.

Auckland resident Tai Nicholas, OFC general secretary and dual Fifa committe member, is under contempt charges. A Fiji newspaper Sunday Star-Times questioned mandate of Fifa disciplinary committee deputy chairman and OFC Treasurer, Dr Muhammad Shamsud-Dean Sahu Khan, former lawyer. Military regime of Fiji is taking court action against the newspaper.

Meanwhile, Sahu Khan is appealing for a ten years disbarment for professional misconduct.

Fiji FA President Rajesh Patel

FIFA Goal Project II

Fiji FA Headquarters, Tramati Street, Off Karsanji Street at Vatuwaqa

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November 20, 2011 | 0 comments

Longest Serving Westpac Fiji Bank Celebrates 110th Anniversary

By CITIZEN Journalist
August 9, 2011

FIJI NEWS - Westpac Fiji, the longest serving bank of the country, marked 110 years of service in Suva. The bank started its operation in 1901, and now it has a forty per cent market share in Fiji.

On the celebration occasion General Manager Jason Stephens of Westpac Fiji said the success of the bank is a testament to the commitment it gives to the employees and customers.

He added that few dramatic changes were on the growth path of the bank but it has always played a pivotal role in Fiji, which is more than just offering banking services to the Fijians. Stephens mentioned that 95 per cent of the Westpac Fiji employees are Fiji citizens, and 35 per cent of the team leaders and managers are women. Earlier only New Zealanders and Australians ran the bank, and it only had male managers.


A cake cutting ceremony was held in the two weeks celebrations of Westpac Fiji at its flagship branch in Suva. The ceremony was attended by Barry Whiteside, Governor of Reserve Bank of Fiji, and Chairman of the National Trust of Fiji Robin Yarrow, along with the executive staff of Westpac.


About Westpac

Westpac, registered as Westpac Banking Corporation, is the second-largest bank in New Zealand, and one of the 'big four' banks in Australia. With headquarters in Sydney, Australia, the bank was founded in 1982 as Westpac. Currently the bank serves in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, United States of America and United Kingdom.

Westpac Fiji Official Website
Westpac Australia Official Website
Westpac New Zealand Official Website

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August 09, 2011 | 0 comments

Fiji to challenge Games ban

FIJI: Fiji will appeal its exclusion from the 2010 Commonwealth Games to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.

Vidya Lakhan, head of the Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee, said on Tuesday the decision taken at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad to ban Fiji from next year's Games in New Delhi was "disappointing".

"We reiterate our position and that is that we see CHOGM's stance in this matter as political interference in sports," Lakhan said. "We will now take our case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and this is our last straw.

"The decision made there will stand and we will all have to abide by it."

Commonwealth leaders meeting in Trinidad on Monday confirmed a decision to suspend Fiji over the failure of the military-led government of Commodore Frank Bainimarama to meet timelines for the restoration of democracy.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Bainimarama said Fiji's exclusion from the 2010 games was an inappropriate way to achieve the Commonwealth's aims.

"We hope that the Commonwealth will reconsider this decision," Permanent Secretary to the Prime Minister's Office, Pio Tikoduadua said. "They should not mix politics with sports. This is not helping in finding solutions to our problems."

Lakhan said he had three legal opinions which suggested Fiji had a strong case for reinstatement to the Commonwealth Games and he would be filing papers with the Court of Arbitration for Sport within two weeks.

"I would suggest that they (CHOGM) get into communication with the IOC and learn how sports and politics are separate," he told Radio New Zealand.

"Politicians are playing their game and of course their intention is to deprive athletes of opportunities. I guess politicians are only good at depriving people of opportunities."

Bainimarama seized power in a December 2006 coup and Fiji was suspended from the Commonwealth on September 1 when his government backed down on pledges to hold elections by 2010.

A CHOGM communique said the decision to suspend Fiji from the Commonwealth Games was in line with principles under which "sporting ties are inseparable from the values of the association."

Australian foreign minister Stephen Smith said the ban was reversible if Fiji met Commonwealth demands.

"There's one very quick way for Fiji to get itself back into the Commonwealth and to go for example to the Commonwealth Games and that's to have an election and return democracy, respect for human rights and respect for the rule of law to Fiji," Smith said.


source: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/fiji-to-challenge-games-ban-20091201-k2df.html

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December 02, 2009 | 0 comments