The Administrator of Fiji Rugby, Simione Valenitabua says he is focused on ensuring all the legal processes are followed to get the Fiji Rugby Union out of the legal mess that the previous administration had put our parent rugby body in.
Valenitabua stresses that the suspension of the FRU from the World Rugby Council was due to FRU risking everything our forebears had built up for FRU by acting fraudulently in misrepresentation.
He says FRU was saying they are a company, yet they are a charitable trust legally.
Valenitabua says FRU was saying it was governed by a Constitution of 2018 however, that Constitution was in the form of an Articles of Association of a company.
The Fiji Rugby Administrator says FRU was also saying that they have a CEO and a Board of Directors however, the last valid Constitution of 1997 for Fiji Rugby Football Union Trust Board does not provide for a CEO or a Board of Directors but an Administrator and a Board of Trustees.
Valenitabua says all this needs to be regularised and legalised in the next 6 months.
He says we have no choice but to comply with the World Rugby conditions so that we can regain our seat in the World Rugby Council.
Minister for Justice, Siromi Turaga had to move to protect the assets and operations of the FRU, appoint interim trustees of the FRU to take it to a Special General Meeting and appoint an interim administrator to act on behalf of the interim trustees.
Turaga confirmed that as Minister for Justice, he exercised his powers under the Charitable Trusts Act in his meeting with the previous board of directors of the FRU.
He says the FRU cannot operate as a charitable trust as it is being run by a board using articles of association of the FRU Company.
Turaga says this is illegal for charitable trusts.
This has also raised the questions about the deals and agreements entered into by the previous administration which was operating as a company but registered as a charitable trust.
The Administrator of Fiji Rugby, Simione Valenitabua is in France and will soon leave for England to firm up details and enter into agreements legally for the test match arrangements done by the previous administrators who had no proper legal standing.
Speaking to fijivillage News, Valenitabua says the Federation of French Rugby has just sent him a letter dated yesterday stating terms and conditions the French Rugby Vice President, Dr Serge Simon and he discussed and agreed on last Saturday in Toulouse regarding the all expenses paid tour of the FIJI Water Flying Fijians for the test matches against France and England in August.
Valenitabua says this shows that it is something new not agreed upon with the previous administration.
He says it is also not tainted in illegality, therefore binding and enforceable against FRU once the Board of Trustees agree and he executes the agreement in France.
Valenitabua further says the English have also not confirmed the rugby test with Fiji on 26th August 2023 in Twickenham.
He says this is because the FRU was unlawfully operating under the previous administration, and the RFU of English Rugby and the French are protecting their interest to ensure that contracts are entered into with legal entities and authorized persons, not with any Tom, Dick and Harry.
Valenitabua met with the French Federation of Rugby for the Flying Fijians to play the French as a Rugby World Cup warm-up on August 19th with French Rugby covering all expenses of the tour from Nadi to France leading up to the RWC.
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