Fifty nine Tongan athletes who were left behind at the airport on Tuesday, will depart Tonga tomorrow morning on a charter flight to Nadi, hoping to get connecting flights for Papua New Guinea in time to participate in the Pacific Games 2015. Only 19 have seats on connecting flights.

The 59 athletes were among the 255 member Tongan sports team who were at the Fua’amotu Airport on Tuesday expecting to depart for PNG, but were turned back because they did not have airline tickets. They expected their tickets to be handed out by TASA officials at the airport.

The disappointing situation where the officials left for PNG, leaving so many athletes behind, has been a hot topic in Tonga since Tuesday.

The charter flight to Nadi tomorrow morning will enable only 19 athletes to get a connecting flight to PNG, but the remaining 40 are scheduled to leave Nadi for PNG on Monday, 13 July.

A spokesperson for TASA called the unfortunate situation “clear negligence by the President, the Secretary General and the Chef de Mission” who left for PNG with 196 athletes on Tuesday, leaving behind 59 athletes from four sports, Taikwando, Cricket, Netball and Athletics.

The spokesperson said that the two options available for TASA were either to take a $250,000 loan from Westpac Bank, or to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Tongan government for the same amount, that TASA would have to pay-back later.

TASA had opted for the MOU which they signed on Wednesday, 8 July.

The financing of Tonga’s participation in the PNG Pacific Games has been a public issue for months, because of infighting among TASA executive members. The issue was further complicated by the fact that Tonga is going to host the next Pacific Games in 2019, and Tonga has to raise $138.6 million (TOP) to build facilities to host the games.

Meanwhile, Tonga is obligated to participate the PNG Pacific Games. Tonga's Minister of Internal Affairs, responsible for sports Hon. Fe'ao Vakata is already in Papua New Guinea with the team.

Tonga was to be represented at the PNG Pacific Games by 255 athletes from 29 National Sports Organisations. The initial plan was for Government to finance a third of the total cost, TASA to fund a third and the National Sports Organisations a third.  

The spokesperson said that only government came up with its contribution, but after further negotiations government paid two thirds, “but by then the price of airline seats kept going up, and now TASA needs another $250,000, but we have to sign a MOU to pay it later.”

As of today, 10 July, unofficial reports coming from PNG are that Tonga has won three gold medals, all from swimming by ‘Amini Fonua.

Supporters of the team members who were left behind say the young athletes went to the airport in the belief they were going to the games, and the shock and disappointment had undermined their confidence.