LAUTOKA – Lautoka City Council’s long tradition of support for football hails back to OFC Football for Hope matches played in August 2007 when Fiji played a two match series against a New Zealand XI.
Fiji lost the first match 2-1 in Suva at Post Fiji Stadium but recorded a 1-0 win over New Zealand XI thanks to a first-half goal by Roy Krishna.
OFC President/FIFA Vice-President Reynald Temarii said Lautoka City Council’s support in hosting this tournament alongside the Fiji FA was invaluable.
"Lautoka City Council has been very accommodating as the host stadium for the OFC Men’s Olympic Football Tournament.
OFC wishes to thank all of those involved with the organisation of this tournament – volunteers, Lautoka City Council workers, stadium staff at Churchill Park, and of course Fiji FA President Dr MS Sahu Khan and the Mayor of Lautoka Rohit Kumar," Temarii said.
The popularity of football in Lautoka is rivalled only by that of Rugby Union but that could change with Lautoka currently sitting top of the table in the New World National League after the team recorded a sensational 4-1 win over defending champions Labasa at Govind Park, Ba, earlier this week.
"The support of Lautoka City Council has been second to none. The groundstaff have been superb and left nothing to chance.
The field of play has held up remarkably well considering the amount of rain and matches we’ve had in a short space of time.
It truly is one of the premier facilities in the Oceania region," said OFC Head of Competitions Seamus Marten.
The dedication and hard work of the Lautoka City Council is perhaps an indication of the city’s vibrant and colourful history.
The name Lautoka is derived from two Fijian words meaning "spear hit." According to an oral tradition, the name arose following a duel between two chiefs. As one speared the other, he was reported to have cried "Lau-toka!"
Lautoka is known as the Sugar City because of its sugar cane belt areas. The main Lautoka Sugar Mil is the city’s biggest employer by far.
Built for the Colonial Sugar Refining Company (Fiji) (CSR) by imported labourers from India and the Solomon Islands between 1899 and 1903, it hires some 1300 employees today.
Other industries include timber milling, garment manufacturing, distillery, brewery, jewellery, blending, steelworks, fishing, hatchery, domestic items, paints, and construction.
Since 1970, the population of Lautoka has grown rapidly, and in the last twenty years it has also changed dramatically in structure.
In the early 1970s the population was estimated to be about 12,000, the vast majority of inhabitants being Indian as would be expected considering the early growth of the city was entirely associated with the sugar industry
In 1986 the population was 39,000 and in 1996 almost 43,000, but it is not clear exactly how the boundaries of the urban area were defined at either of these censuses.
In 2005 the population including the suburban zones was probably about 50,000, occupying a total area of about 16 km².
The population of Lautoka including the rural districts is around 80,000. But much of the recent growth of the city itself has been due to indigenous Fijians moving into the urban area.
The city is the birthplace of PGA TOur Hall of Fame golfer Vijay Singh.
Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Men’s Olympic Football Tournament coverage is brought to you courtesy of Lautoka City Council, Fiji TV and the Fiji FA.
