Minister for Youth and Sports Jese Saukuru has officially confirmed that the Australian National Rugby League (NRL) bid has been formally submitted to the Australian NRL Commission for consideration. “The expression of interest has been supported by Government and we shared this with the Australian NRL Commission,” Mr Saukuru said.
Addressing queries surrounding the NRL bid, Mr Saukuru clarified that the Government’s role is limited to providing a letter of support to the Fiji National Rugby League (FNRL) and it does not entail any financial involvement.
“The NRL bid is regarding an FNRL team playing in the NRL franchise — something like the Drua set up for rugby union.
“Government is just providing a supporting letter to FNRL to support their bid and we have nothing to do with the finance,” he added.
The Fijian Cabinet endorsed Rugby League Bid (Fiji) Pte Ltd to spearhead the bid to secure a licence for participation in the Australian National Rugby League (NRL) premiership competition, encompassing both men’s and women’s rugby league teams in the 18th extension franchise.
Cabinet also approved a 200 per cent tax rebate to sponsors for Rugby League Bid (Fiji) Pte Ltd as currently awarded to sponsors of the Fijian Drua to be considered through the 2024 – 2025 Budget process.
FNRL development officer Jone Wesele believes this would be a good opportunity for our local players to showcase their talent and play competitively at professional level.
“We are hoping for the best and we know this will create a lot of opportunities for our men and women,” Wesele said.
