OFC President and FIFA Vice-President David Chung presented the cheque to Fiji Football Association President Rajesh Patel in Nadi several days after being an honoured guest at the inauguration of the new Fiji FA headquarters in Suva.
Also in attendance at the handover were Fiji FA Vice-President Tarunesh Reddy and Nadi Football Association President Jitendra Kumar, who is also a Fiji FA Vice-President.
President Chung says the Oceania football family was saddened to hear of the losses suffered by many in the extreme flooding of March and April and is pleased to be able to help those affected get back on their feet.
“This is part of OFC’s Football for Life programme that supports humanitarian causes and social development across the Pacific,” he says.
“We are happy to contribute to the relief effort and hope the assistance will be of great benefit to the people of Fiji as they look to recover from this tragedy.”
That the cheque presentation took place in Nadi is appropriate as the region was hit badly by the natural disaster, as were the fellow Western Division districts of Ba and Lautoka.
Several lives were lost and thousands of people were forced from their homes as the water levels rose to engulf whole townships, causing damage to infrastructure, schools, houses, businesses and agriculture. With power services disrupted for days, the lives of at least 150,000 people were affected.
The western part of main island Viti Levu bore the brunt of the flooding but settlements in other parts of the country such as Sigatoka, Rewa and Nausori also failed to emerge unscathed.
The OFC donation will go towards the Prime Minister’s Flood Relief Fund, an initiative put in place by the Fiji Government to help in the rehabilitation effort.
President Chung, who is also at the helm of the Papua New Guinea Football Association, saw his own country of residence struck by disaster in February when a passenger ferry tragically sunk off the coast of Lae, leaving over 100 people assumed drowned.
OFC granted a Football for Life donation on that occasion of $50,000 PGK and has a growing history of contributing to such causes through the initiative.
Football for Life was launched by OFC in 2007 to help the victims of a devastating tsunami that hit the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. In 2008, OFC partnered with UNAIDS to organise and promote ‘Stop HIV Day’ during the men’s and women’s Olympic qualifying tournaments.
The impact of Football for Life continued in 2010 with the donation of $25,000 NZD to the New Zealand Football Christchurch Earthquake Appeal. The funds were put towards the recovery and development of the world game in a region that has been hit hard by a series of earthquakes since a devastating tremor struck in February of last year.
Football for Life has also made an impact at a grassroots level by helping to fund equipment bags that are being distributed to primary schools across the region. The packs, which include balls, cones, bibs and other resources, are part of the OFC ‘Just Play’ programme that promotes physical activity for kids aged six to 12 and encourages community involvement and healthy living.

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