SPORTS has been used as a pillar of change in the lives of youths and the Fiji National Rugby League thrives in this ‘playground’ as opportunities are opened to players from all walks of life.
Recently, certain teams in their respective competitions have shared with this newspaper how rugby league has changed the lives of their players.
Players who were once involved in social ills have now turned their lives around for the oval ball, living a life of discipline- a prerequisite of playing the sport of rugby league.
FNRL chairman Akuila Masi, in an interview with TimesSport, shared that this a core principle of the sport globally and they have continued to live by it.
“I think rugby league as a sport, one of our main goals is to build people, to develop people especially the rejected ones. To those that understand the background of rugby league, it was played by those who were rejected from rugby union. I think we are still living up to that principle,” Masi said.
“People that were rejected from school, their own homes or from wherever they are, and most of them are now playing rugby league,” he said.
Its not about parenting an individual but rather creating a safe space that slowly moulds a player.
“We try to create that platform, we do not only train them to play rugby league, if you watch some of the videos of our development team, we talk about values, opportunities, values of respect, hardwork, discipline, management so those are some of the core focuses of rugby league.
“The bonus is getting a contract overseas and play professional rugby league abroad but basic values in life is what we train them to do. Most of our clubs are doing that very well,” Masi said.
As rosy as it may sound, being patient throughout the process and journey is a challenging one.
“Its not easy because people come from different backgrounds and factors like endurance on how we can work with them to change their lives.
“We know we are not their parents but at least we create rugby league as a platform where they can be real to themselves, come and share their problems and we believe sports in Fiji address some of those issues that youths are involved in,” the FNRL chairman added.
The sport has opened its doors to ‘rejected’ players from rugby union, individuals with talent but are sucked into social ills as well as school dropouts- giving them a chance to make a living for themselves through rugby league.
