A team listed as FSC Grassroots will take the field at the 39th Fiji Bitter Nawaka 7s in Nadi this week even though the squad was formally disbanded in January and the Fiji Sports Council (FSC) is under investigation.
Fiji Sports Council Deputy Chair Peter Mazey told FBC Sports the Council has no ongoing involvement with the group since it was stood down earlier this year. The side had trained and played under former coach Sireli Bobo and had been based at the Council’s Laucala facility, Mazey said, but the squad was dissolved in January. Of the 35 players who had been camped at Laucala, 20 have returned to Taveuni and the remaining 15 have been picked up to play for other clubs at Nawaka.
Despite that breakup, Nawaka organisers have placed an FSC Grassroots team in pool 14 of the tournament. Tournament Director Jeff Tamata confirmed the entry was lodged and the registration fees were paid prior to the team’s closure. FSC Grassroots’ opening pool match is scheduled against Belovula at 9:48am on Friday and will be broadcast on FBC 2.
The development comes against the backdrop of a wider shake-up at the Council. Last week Mazey said the FSC chief executive Gilbert Vakalalavure and senior staff member Litia Senibulu have been placed on leave while the FSC board pursues an external probe. The board has engaged Australian finance firm Pherrus to investigate 16 separate allegations over a three-week program, Mazey said. Pherrus’s terms of reference for the first week include a review of alleged contra deals with Fiji Airways and others, the FSC-supported under-20 7s team’s trip to Hamilton, New Zealand, and scrutiny of Council-sponsored tournaments.
Organisers’ acceptance of FSC Grassroots’ late-season entry will draw attention given recent Nawaka controversies over team eligibility. At last year’s tournament, a shadow national side competing under a different name was disqualified after organisers determined proper registration confirmation had not been completed — an episode that underscored how closely tournament officials watch compliance.
For now, Nawaka officials have treated the FSC Grassroots entry as valid because registration and payment were completed before the squad’s closure, Tamata said. Whether any eligibility questions arise from the players’ changed affiliations leading up to the event will be resolved under the tournament’s usual rules and the discretion of organisers, who have previously moved to disqualify teams over registration irregularities.
The appearance of an FSC-branded team at Nawaka, even in name only, highlights how the Council’s internal issues are spilling into the local rugby landscape at a time when players and communities are still preparing for one of the country’s largest sevens festivals.
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