The Minister for Youth and Sports Laisenia Tuitubou has officially launched the lottery tickets to help finance athletes who will be representing the country in the upcoming international meets.

The launching took place at FASANOC House in Suva on Friday night.

Tuitubou purchased the first lottery booklet during the launch and called on the nation to rally behind our athletes.

He also thanked the sponsors who had donned the yoke of financing Team Fiji.

“Small nations like ours are always knocking on the doors of every world meet but are held back from progressing by the financial limitation that we encounter,” he said.

Tuitubou said this would no longer be the case since his ministry and Government are supportive of every athlete and the future of sports in the country as well.

“Sports have proven to be one of the greatest medium of unity as shown when our sevens rugby team defeated the best to become the best in the abbreviated rugby code,” he said.

Triple jumper Eugene Vollmer said the two vital footsteps in the development of an athlete are sponsorship and to be in a competitive environment.

“Successful stories cannot be relied alone on raw guts.

“That’s no matter how much we train, without competition we cannot raise our standards,” Vollmer said.

”For the past five years, attempts to secure a sponsor has been futile and that is the reason I haven’t been really competing with the best to gauge my performance and fitness.

“The national 7s team has been consistent through yearly international competition and that is why they won the gold in the Rio Olympics last year.

“Also they have companies like Vodafone, BLK and other major business houses supporting them.”

FASANOC president Joe Rodan Snr said funds collected from the sale of the lottery tickets would help finance Team Fiji as they prepare for the Mini Pacific Games in Vanuatu this year.

Edited by Leone Cabenatabua

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