Beast beaten RAJEND NAIDU SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA World Cup 2026. Norway 2 v Brazil 1. The better team won. Norway deserved its win. It outplayed Brazil playing the beautiful game beautifully. Striker Erling Haaland is a Norwegian national treasure.
Global game EPELI RABUA TAMAVUA, SUVA THE current 2026 Soccer World Cup is the only true global sport in the world today. FIFA, the governing body of soccer in the world has made this sport the most beautiful, grandest and richest game globally. 48 countries from all the world’s continents to island countries with less than 600,000 population are in the 2026 soccer World Cup. This can only happen when the game is more important than the individual countries playing the game! Rugby Union, will never ever reach this level because in this sport the country is more important than the game. In rugby a country influences changes to the rules of the game not because of safety but because it suits their way of playing rugby. Case in point. George Smith the Brumbies and Wallaby GOAT No. 7 in the world, was a masterclass in stripping opponents off the ball in tackle transitions. He humiliated Richie McCaw to the extent that New Zealand influenced the changing of the law to tackle, stand and then rip the ball. All of this, just to get their other forwards and players to the tackled player and maintain possession of the ball. This just slows the game and makes it boring! The practice of keeping other talented players for a three-year stand down period, whereby they are given a token game to play for a country and then cast away, never to represent or play for that country again. This ensures that the player never gets to play for his/her country of birth at his/her prime. The three-year waiting period, just kills off the players’ love of the game and wastes their talent on playing domestic rugby. Then you have national duty preparations. For the big rugby countries, you have a month-long preparation, and smaller countries like Fiji, two weeks. The New Zealand rugby league team the Warriors played a game in Wellington recently with a sold out 35,000 capacity crowd. The rugby union refereeing has one standard for whites and another for blacks. And we wonder why is rugby’s crowd coverage diminishing year after year. The Australian National Rugby League (NRL), has taken up the teachings of FIFA and the game has grown to unprecedented levels in just five years. Players can play for their country of birth at any time and rugby league has become more global than rugby union. The last State of Origin game had a 96,000- crowd capacity. Even cricket has surpassed rugby union in global coverage. With only one country influencing rugby union, this sport will never ever reach its global potential. That is why soccer is the most global and beautiful sport in the world.
Australian gifts JAN NISSAR LAUTOKA THE Australian Prime Minister is visiting Fiji with a whole delegation. No doubt the Aussie PM has come bearing gifts to fill the holes in the Fijian budget as they have been doing for decades. All this while the Fiji government and Fijians get on with important things like constitutional reform, making Fiji a Christian state, bringing Sunday bans, forgiving each other and praying and fasting. I find the fixation by certain Fijians to impose their religion on others fascinating. What is even more fascinating is that all this will be done in a democratic manner. Hitler was also elected in a democratic manner. But that was all in the past, as we all know. Fijians can always rely on Australia putting food on their tables. Like I always say, Fijians are truly blessed that they have a friend like Australia who continues to give peanuts to Fiji to fill the holes in their budget every month. So better treat Australia and Australians well, ok.
Taxpayer-funded FSC bailouts DR SUSHIL K SHARMA LAUTOKA WHILE politicians remain silent and sugarcane growers absorb structural losses, the public treasury continues to bail out FSC’s operational inefficiencies at an unconscionable scale. Just last year, Fijian taxpayers were forced to write off a staggering $200million in accumulated corporate debt to keep the insolvent corporation afloat, and now in the newly handed-down national budget, taxpayers have injected another $40 million of public funds into the organisation. Despite these massive capital injections, none of this funding has been used to reduce production costs, lower cartage rates, or restore cost-effective rail transport for the growers in the fields. Taxpayers are continuously paying for the financial excesses, luxury vehicle allowances, and bloated administrative overheads of FSC corporate executives, while the actual producers of the national wealth receive nothing but demands to harvest at a loss. An independent, fully elected SCGC grower representative and CEO, would have fiercely challenged the historical excesses of this system, such as former executive Abdul Khan’s obscene $840,000 annual salary and $10,000 monthly rent allowance at Denarau while FSC accumulated a staggering $443 million in debt. Today, the structural paradigm remains unchanged: the corporate suite enjoys absolute protection without government intervention, while the sugar cane growers and the Fijian taxpayers continue to shoulder the entirety of the financial wreckage.
Taveuni tragedy NOLEEN BILLINGS SAVUSAVU FOR an island that earns almost $20million annually from agriculture and tourism, how can Government allow such a tragedy on Taveuni?
Child rapists WISE MUAVONO BALAWA, LAUTOKA CHINA routinely executes child rapists under a strict, zero tolerance policy targeting severe crimes against minors. Starting on the 1st of this month, the state of Idaho in the US of A will begin allowing child rapists to be executed by firing squad under a new law. A similar law would be beneficial for Vitia to counter the uncontrollable rising number of sexual offences against children in the country. These offenders committing the unforgivable act are a disgrace to mankind. Neuu!
School time TAHIR ALI HAMILTON, NEW ZEALAND DAN Urai’s comments that school close due to “Climate change” (FT 26/6) is generally true but at times may be due to man-made or natural disasters. The disturbances due to any event affect mostly children in their education. The education authorities always take care of the welfare of children with everyone’s cooperation but at times they are beyond our control. Safety for everyone is paramount.
Fuel crisis NARAYAN REDDY LAUTOKA TAVEUNI is facing fuel crisis as two service station ran out of fuel the other day. People in other parts of Fiji are complaining about high fuel cost too. Fiji received three Navy surveillance vessels for sea surveillance, is there enough fuel for these three vessels to surveillance Fiji waters?
Brain drain TAHIR ALI HAMILTON, NEW ZEALAND MANY professionals on completion of their qualifications move abroad for better job opportunities. I believe we should improve our conditions at home so that professionals like Ashneel teaching in Tokyo could consider returning home. Reverse brain drain and feel home. “Fiji Times Opinion – a nugget of nostalgia – from happy meal to hot roti” by Ashneel J. Prasad (FT 5/7).
Hard to see RONNIE CHANG MARTINTAR, NADI ALLOW me with total respect; courtesy and dignity, to utter these thoughts from my sick bed … following a close call at lunch time on Saturday, last. It is always hard to see our septuagenarian President as he struggles, with a helping hand, walk to official duties. I am being very honest and sincere in sharing these thoughts. Walking into Parliament engagements is not easy to see. He struggles to walk, unaided. This is so real. Thank you Australian PM, Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, for your fleeting visit to our Capital City on Monday, July 6 and your huge “Big Brother” helping hand addressing Fiji’s growing security requirements. Thank you PM Sitiveni Rabuka for leading us in these deeply challenging days. We are all human. We have limitations. We all fall short, at times. Asking forgiveness is never easy. Remaining humble and apologetic is only for brave men and women. The proudhearted will be sorely tested, in time. Those who betrayed senior pensioners need to relook carefully at the exacerbated hurts they inflicted older senior pensioners. We are suffering in our twilight years. A happy death will not be ours without impassionate intervention by PM Rabuka. He has the executed authority to right yesterday’s wrong by the former cruel and heartless administration. We are counting on you for your political will, empathy and unfailing compassion as we fervently seek Restorative Justice and Restitution … nothing less. Fiji needs to carefully chose the lesser of all evils. Admittedly, Fiji has not been a perfect country for the last 26 years (and earlier). It is easier to speak our minds today, without being taken in or instantly taken away in the dead of night from the privacy of his home — whisked at speed to Nadi Airport at lightning speed and flown away (as in former USP VC — to refresh our memories). My prayers are offered for a bigger, better and more caring Fiji — do not betray older citizens. We need happy deaths too … not just the rich, powerful and stronger folks. Grant us this one last chance — without taxpayer funds. There is more than enough in the $600million plus accrued interest in the Pension Buffer Fund from 2011. Besides, FNPF admirably owns a huge $12billion portfolio plus $2billion cash-at-bank. FNPF cannot plead inability. This is my S.O.S. Ending a cruel life is a considered option. It can be very real. Our learned psychologists and human rights executives continue not to lend us their empathy and powerful voices. Are you so weak and feeble in the face of cruelty to older betrayed pensioners? Rise up. Be counted. Betrayal of older folks causes severe emotional stress; aggravated needless financial pressure — most unapologetically. This pattern of grossly uncooperative behaviour needs to change. Should we be tempted to raise this shameful national behaviour in the International Court of Justice and make this another “David and Goliath” story?
