Waisea Nayacalevu, the former captain of the Flying Fijians, says he has made the decision to speak out about the Fiji Rugby Union’s treatment of Fijian rugby players in regards to unfulfilled promises and delayed pay because he is concerned for all the players involved as well as for the future of Fijian rugby players in general.
Semi Radradra revealed in a Facebook conversation with Lesi Vanuavou, Nayacalevu, and a senior player how the coaches and players had to use their own funds because the credit card that the FRU had sent to the manager on tour was devoid of funds.
The local players’ meals have to be covered by the senior players, and the coaches have even been forced to foot the bill for laundry.
In addition, Nayacalevu and Radradra claim that the players from the 2019 World Cup received just half of their promised salary. For this reason, they demanded payment of their bonuses and salaries prior to their match against England in the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal.
Nayacalevu even went so far as to inform the FRU that unless the promised funds were received, the players would boycott the quarterfinal.
Nayacalevu, Radradra, and senior player Lepani Botia have stated today that they have not received the $105,000 payment per player from the 2023 Rugby World Cup, in response to the Fiji Rugby Union’s announcement that the players have been paid.
Nayacalevu adds that he had also requested to meet via Zoom with Peter Mazey, the FRU Interim Chair, but Mazey had not shown up for any of the meetings.
He claims that as they are athletes representing Fiji, they are not responsible for the FRU’s debts.
Nayacalevu and Botia assert that the FRU receives funds from sponsors and World Rugby; they question why this funding isn’t being employed to pay coaches and players on schedule.
Our goal has been to obtain the FRU.
Mazey claims that in response to concerns expressed by Waisea Nayacalevu and other participants regarding payments, the Trustees have hired a third-party accounting auditor to examine each payment.
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