The power of Sports
Government to empower Fijian youths
GOVERNMENT will continue to develop and enhance Fijian sporting talents to help boost the economy.
With returns in sports investments pumping millions of dollars into Fiji annually, Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said sports was a winner for Fiji.
“Fiji’s athletic talent is a fantastic resource for the country,” Bainimarama said while launching former Fiji rugby team captain, Pio Bosco Tikoisuva’s Emperor Bosco autobiography in Suva on Thursday night.
The book speaks about Tikoisuva’s life as a rugby player and administrator, diplomat and an academic.
“I’m sure Tikoisuva is proud to see the significant investments we have made to tap the athletic potential we know lies in wait across our islands and help amateur athletes rise to global prominence. By building parks and sporting grounds, especially in rural areas, attracting top coaching expertise, and constructing new state-of-the-art facilities, we are helping to identify, train and empower the next “Emperor Bosco” or indeed, the next Empress, because for the first time our women athletes are receiving substantial support from their Government.
“Those investments are paying off. We have two Olympic Games gold medals for our men’s side and an Olympics bronze from our Fijiana 7s to show for it. We are living in the early years of a new era of excellence for our Fijiana team.
The best is yet to come.”
The event was attended by invited guests from all walks of life.
Bainimarama said Tikoisuva, well known as Bosco, was among Fijians who laid a strong foundation for Fijian sports.
“As we look to the future of Fijian rugby, we cannot forget those who have laid the foundation. Those who contributed to building a sport that does so much to unite Fijians and help us to rise above the challenges we have endured as a nation and people. Tikoisuva sits among legends at the centre of that legacy. Thanks to this autobiography, his impact, and the lessons of his life, will inspire many more Fijians through the years ahead.”
The autobiography, a first also for the PM to launch, is sold at the Kundan Singh Bakery at Samabula, Suva for $49.95. Bosco was the captain of the Fiji team that beat the British and Irish Lions in 1977 at the them Buckhurst Park in Suva. Read Bosco’s views on modern Fijian rugby in next Friday’s Where Champions Meet column in The Fiji Times.