Earlier this month, former Tonga rugby union captain Inoke Afeaki claimed national sporting bodies lacked structure and policies and Board members' archaic attitudes were halting Tonga's progress in sport.

Taumoepeau agrees there is a major issue with governance and administration of sport in the Polynesian kingdom.

"We have about 36 National Federation members, and out of those 36, I would say about 30 per cent are quite active in their sport or National Federation," he was reported as saying by Radio New Zealand (RNZ).

"The rest are more or less drifting or floating and to me that comes down to the governance and administration of respective sports."

Tonga won 29 medals, including nine golds, at this year's Pacific Games, which took place in Samoa from July 7 to 20.

They ranked eighth in the medal table.

Taumoepeau believes the Government needs to have a good working relationship with sporting organisations in Tonga if their success is to continue.

"Putting in place the programmes and pathways - that to me is one of the most important components of the journey," he said.

"But you know if you don't have those expertise and people to undertake and make sure these programmes are carried out in certain areas for the next five years, then I think the result may not come to this."

Afeaki, a former director of operations for Team Tonga, served as programme co-ordinator for the Tonga Sports Council until last month and helped to oversee Tonga's team at Samoa 2019.

He told RNZ Pacific the Tongan Government appeared to be winding up the Council.

But when asked about funding cuts, deputy chief executive of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Onetoto Anisi, who is responsible for Tonga's sport and recreation divisions, declined to comment.

"We here in Government - we just follow more or less on the policies - and also the Council sports programme, called here the community sports programme, so we are more or less training on those issues," Anisi was reported as saying by RNZ.

"The high performance and the Olympic Committee is totally outside of Government."

Afeaki, who played professional rugby in New Zealand, France, Japan and Singapore, accepted an invitation from the TASANOC Executive Board to take up the post of director of operations for Team Tonga in July 2017.

He was tasked with rebuilding and strengthening programmes and activities for Tongan athletes.