Lockington's Everyday Fiji ... Life Goes On

Allen Lockington is a self-employed customs agent and business consultant who has regular articles published in www.connectme.com.fj/news/opinion. I thank Allen and Connect for permission to reprint some of them in this political blog. They remind us that life goes on, whatever the political situation. And it's good to know that.

Sports Disparity

As I read the news about sports in Fiji I see a huge disparity.  Once again we read that Netball Fiji is asking for help. Right next to that we have the soccer debate. Soccer is so rich that clubs can import players from Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. There may be other countries that I haven’t named. But we see the two sides of things in Fiji’s sporting arena. While one sport struggles to make ends meet, the other is soaring, and good on them. Soccer is the biggest sport in the world. Bigger than rugby, and the passion that supporters have is overwhelming.



Many athletes are unemployed or have  menial jobs. Only in very rare cases di we have an athlete who has a high paying job. And it’s the business houses that support soccer and makes it a professional outfit in Fiji. Many teams pay their players enough for them not to work. The reward is in the gate takings they make when their team plays. And if the player is stylish and can almost guarantee a win, the support is bigger. Betting takes place and makes the game even richer. Rival teams will try and outdo each other by getting the best players and one way is to bring in expatriates.

Someone asked how the imports will develop soccer. The reward is to win a tournament. Development is for the national body to look after. It's clubs or associations that are paying for the imports and I believe they are a crowd puller. They bring in a different style of soccer.

But as for netball, I can only say, they deserve help. If only the big business owners liked netball. How can we lure the soccer-loving businessmen to netball. Any ideas, anyone.