Fiji ANZ Stadium new name HFC Bank Stadium

Article posted by Coliseum, June 23^rd, 2022

Image: Fiji Sports Council

The Fiji Sports Council has announced HFC Bank as the new naming rights sponsor of the iconic National Stadium, which comes into effect from July 1^st, 2022.

The iconic National Stadium will effectively be called the HFC Bank Stadium from July 1^st, 2022.

The ‘Fiji Sports Council’ stated that the decision was made by the Board of the Fiji Sports Council after tenders were called from various interested organizations for the new naming rights sponsorship. The Fiji Sports Council showed its gratitude for HFC Bank’s participation in the tender process and for their successful bid.

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The Fiji Sports Council is an organization that is the custodian of all Fiji Government-owned sporting facilities around the country. The Fiji Sports Council is tasked to manage, maintain and upkeep all facilities under its area of responsibilities.

The 4,300-capacity ANZ National Stadium is a multipurpose stadium in Suva, Fiji. The ANZ Stadium is used primarily for rugby league, rugby union and football matches, and features a track as well as a pitch suitable for worldwide competition.

The ‘Fiji Sports Council’ further stated that the Fiji Sport Council CEO, Litiana Loabuka, thanked the outgoing naming rights sponsor, ANZ Bank, for the support and commitment for the past nine years and welcomed the new naming rights sponsor, HFC Bank. The Fiji Sports Council Board Chairman, Peter Mazey, said that “the Board of Fiji Sports Council is proud to partner with a Fijian-owned bank for the naming rights of Fiji’s very own iconic national asset.”

HFC Bank CEO, Rakesh Ram, stated that he felt “Extremely privileged and honored to be able to secure this sponsorship. This is a great accomplishment for the HFC Bank. This partnership with the Fiji Sports Council will now provide Fiji’s own bank with the most strategic, powerful and exceptional branding opportunity. One of the key strategies of the HFC Bank is to create a strong and trusted brand that is on par, if not, better than its international peers. Brand is everything for an organization and any organization should be extremely proud to be the naming right sponsor of the most iconic national asset. This opportunity will drive HFC Bank’s brand not just at the national level, but internationally as well. This also puts HFC Bank on a path to becoming a recognized and trusted household name, which aligns to HFC Bank’s core strategy to be the most respected and admired organization in Fiji.”

This new venture could not have come at a more opportune time as the Fiji Sports Council gears up for various national and international events post-COVID. These include the first 2022 Pacific Nations Cup fixture that will see the Flying Fijians (Fiji national rugby union team) taking on Tonga A, while Samoa faces Australia A (the second national rugby union team of Australia, on July 2^nd.

The 2022 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup is the 15^th edition of the Pacific Nations Cup annual international rugby union competition and the first since 2019, with a two-year gap due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be held from July 2^nd, 2022 to July 16^th, 2022.

This rugby international is soon followed up with Fiji’s hosting of the Oceania Football Confederations Women’s Nations Cup that will be played throughout July.

The Fiji Finals will take place in August followed by more major national sporting events for the remainder of 2022.

All these matches and the many more to come will be held with the venue now designated as the ‘HFC Bank Stadium’.

The HFC Bank has been a fully commercial bank since March 2014. Before that, it operated as a Financial Credit Institution from 1962. The bank has steadily grown its assets to $1.5bn, compared to $0.4bn when it initially started banking operations. In the last four years, the bank has continuously grown its net asset position by over $100m each year. The bank recognizes that its people are its key assets and is heavily investing in training and capacity development. The bank plans to continue to increase its foothold in the local market for better and stable returns to its shareholders, which eventually finds its way to the people of Fiji.

Added Ram, “This branding opportunity enables HFC Bank to directly connect people through sports and bring the community together.”

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