Labasa celebrated many firsts this year including a number of national and major sports events.
One of these events they celebrated was the 2025 Vodafone Ratu Sukuna Bowl football and rugby matches which was played at Subrail Park for the first time in the competition’s history.
The town is proving that it has the capacity to host major events with its trickling effects impacting everyone in the community, especially the Labasa economy.
Labasa Town Council special administrator Samuela Ligairi said behind the passion of hosting these events is the desire to give the people in the north a chance to experience things they only got to watch on television screens and hear on the radio in previous years.
“Basically this is for the people, for them to come and enjoy. We have prepared the facility so well, the grounds and everything to be ready for this occasion.
“We hosted the Fiji FACT, BOG (Battle of the Giants) after so many years, this (Sukuna Bowl) is part of it.
“These are national events that we get to witness and celebrate for the first time including the National Girmit Day, Ratu Sukuna Day and World Food Safety.
“It’s great we anticipated this at the beginning of this year because this year we hosted a number of national events for the first time.
“That was the message that we tried to put through to the Fiji Police, that if the Sukuna Bowl could be brought here for the first time in history for the people of Vanua Levu,” he said in an interview with this newspaper.
The economic impact of bringing the Sukuna Bowl to the north was expected to be huge.
“In terms of economic development, like we always do, it’s a holistic approach to benefit the people, the hoteliers, market vendors, taxi operators and so on. This is for the people economically and socially where they get to meet their friends and relatives from Suva.”
Ligairi added that through the other sports they’ve hosted this year, the Labasa Town Council was ready to improvise and facilitate the needs of the Sukuna Bowl organising committee.
“The Town Council was ready because we had just hosted the BOG not too long ago. We coordinated well with the Sukuna Bowl organising committee; we made work easier for them.
“We had the facility and the ground which only needed little improvement and we were ready to facilitate their needs for the benefit of the people and the businesses here.”
The 2025 Sukuna Bowl was shifted to the north following the request from former president, Tui Macuata Ratu Wiliame Katonivere.
