The President of FASANOC, Vidhya Lakhan and Honorary Secretary General, Atma Maharaj, as part of the Commonwealth Games Federation Delegation, met with the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat in London on Wednesday 28 October. The prime objective of the visit was to firstly find a way forward for Fijian athletes to take part in the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games and secondly to seek the support of the Secretariat to remove sports sanction as an item from the list of sanctions for the future.
The response from the Secretariat was very clear in that they do not have the powers to change the decision of CEMAG to ban Fijian athletes from the 2010 Delhi Games. Nor was the Secretariat able to offer any advice or suggestions to how we as sports leaders could achieve our objectives.
The Delegation was however advised the only group who could change the CEMAG decision is the Heads of Governments. This they could do at their next meeting in late November in Trinidad.
Vidhya Lakhan said that FASANOC would now have to move swiftly as entries and selection of team sports for the Delhi Games will be closing in a matter of weeks. It is very likely FASANOC will now be approaching Heads of Commonwealth Governments to seek their support in enabling Fijian athletes to compete in the Delhi Games before exploring other opportunities.
Last Modified on 03/11/2009 09:54
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