Fiji suspended from Commonwealth Games

Fijis Commonwealth status was fully suspended on September 1 by the Commonwealths Ministerial Action Group and,therefore,it does not meet our own constitutional requirements for membership, Fennell said.

The CGF Executive Board and all members of the General Assembly had great sympathy for the plight of the Fijian athletes who are aspiring to compete in Delhi, Fennell added.

Ray of hope?

However,there is still some for the Fiji contingent. Fennell informed that the federation would ask the Commonwealth Heads of the Government CHOGM meeting to be held in Port of Spain next month to exempt sport from its full suspension.

Sport and sporting events should be exempted from political suspension. The general assembly has endorsed my proposal to lead a delegation to the Commonwealth Secretary General,requesting him to take forward to the CHOGM,a recommendation from us that sport field be removed as part of the sanction imposed upon a nation suspended from the Commonwealth. This would provide an opportunity for the athletes of Fiji to participate in the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, he said.

The Commonwealth Games feature 71 nations and territories that were linked to the former British Empire. In 1998,Nigeria was now allowed to participate in the Kuala Lumpur edition of the Games due to similar political reasons.