The Fiji Rugby Union has officially launched wheelchair rugby in Fiji, marking a major step in widening access to the national sport. The Fiji Rugby Wheelchair Association was formally constituted at a ceremony held at the French Residence in Suva, where FRU chief executive Koli Sewabu described the initiative as a deliberate effort to break down barriers and ensure rugby truly is “for everyone.”
Speaking at the launch, Sewabu said the move changes what it means to be a rugby player in Fiji. “For too long, the spirit of our great sport, with its physicality, strategy, brotherhood, and sisterhood, has seemed out of reach for some. Today, we break down that barrier. We say clearly: Rugby is for everyone,” he said, pledging the FRU’s support for athletes in the new code. Sewabu also told players they would be welcomed into the wider rugby family: “You will wear the Fiji jersey with the same pride, passion, and love as any 7s or 15s player.”
The FRU acknowledged the French Government’s role in supporting the launch, with Sewabu saying the bilateral partnership and shared vision helped turn the project into reality. The event at the French Residence underscores a growing relationship between Fiji rugby stakeholders and partners in France; in recent months Fiji rugby bodies have expanded cooperation with European counterparts, including initiatives to support Fijian players and administrators overseas.
The newly constituted association — alternately described as the Fiji Rugby Wheelchair Association and the Wheelchair Rugby Union at the ceremony — will focus on recruiting, developing and preparing athletes to compete on the international wheelchair rugby stage. Sewabu said the association’s mandate is to serve athletes with disabilities, build pathways for talent, and integrate wheelchair rugby into the FRU’s high-performance and community programs.
The launch is the latest in a series of inclusion-driven moves by the FRU as it broadens its remit beyond traditional men’s sevens and 15s programs. In recent months the union has outlined enhanced strategies for women’s rugby development and backed measures to strengthen player welfare for Fijians competing abroad. The wheelchair rugby initiative represents a formal commitment to disability sport under the national rugby umbrella rather than a parallel or ad hoc programme.
Details on training locations, coaching appointments and funding arrangements were not released at the launch, but Sewabu emphasised international competition as a target. He said the FRU will work to ensure wheelchair rugby athletes receive appropriate resources and opportunities to represent Fiji overseas — an aspiration that will require coordination with international wheelchair rugby bodies and continued support from partners.
By bringing wheelchair rugby into the rugby “vuvale,” the FRU aims to broaden participation and visibility for athletes with disabilities, while signalling to the wider Pacific region that Fiji intends to compete and contribute in this Paralympic-aligned discipline. The constitution of the association at the French Residence formalises governance for the code and sets a framework for the next stage: building squads, coaching capacity and competitive pathways for Fiji’s first generation of wheelchair rugby players.