Lord Sevele, the chair of the executive committee for hosting of the 2019 Pacific Games in Tonga met with some Tongan sports representatives in Auckland this evening as some sports bodies pushed for Prime Minister ʻAkilisi Pohiva to reverse his decision not to host the Games.
Kaniva News understands the meeting was attended by members of the Tonga Aotearoa Amateur Sports Association (TAASA).
TAASA describes itself on Facebook and how it operates as “an administrative sports organisation in junction with TASANOC Tonga”.
It held a meeting earlier on in Otahuhu in which members passed a decision to launch a petition against the governmentʻs stance on the Games.
Lord Sevele wanted to solicit the representatives’ views on what they could do to bring back the Games to Tonga.
The latest statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday last week said the government had considered all possible options before deciding to withdraw from hosting the 2019 Pacific Games.
It said it was a “very difficult” decision.
Lord Sevele arrived in New Zealand this week after he met with 40 delegates from 17 National Federations the week before.
The delegates wanted Lord Sevele to talk to the government about reversing its decision.
Meanwhile the decision by the government to pull out has divided the online Tongan community.
Many stood by the government’s decision describing it as “smart” while others disagreed saying it was “embarrassing”.
