Mercantile establishments support Sri Lanka’s rugby teams preparing for Birmingham

by A Special Sports Correspondent 

Sri Lanka’s rugby is set to benefit immensely with many mercantile establishments tying up with the country’s men’s and women’s rugby teams which are preparing to contest the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.

All establishments backing the island’s rugby sevens teams in their capacity as sponsors had encouraging words for the players and the sport when their representatives spoke at a media briefing hosted by Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) yesterday (June 22) at Ramada Hotel in Colombo.

Sri Lanka’s rugby was severely affected during the two years of the pandemic and this is a golden opportunity for the members of the men’s and women’s national teams to come out of a shell and perform at an international rugby event. SLR President Rizly Illyas speaking at the media briefing said that the sport of rugby has brought enjoyment to everyone despite the hunger and problems faced by the people of this country.

Illyas took the opportunity to thank the National Olympic Committee and World Rugby (WR) for sponsoring the teams travel cost and lodging.

The mercantile establishments that have tied up with SLR to prop the two teams taking wing to England for the games are Hameedia (Signature), Webxpay, True Digital and Nippon Paints. According to SLR the total value of the sponsorships received is expected to be over Rs 50 million.

General Manager Nippon Paints Nemantha Abeysinghe who spoke at the event said that the firm he represents wants to be involved with youth and sports. “Rugby is one of the biggest spectator sports in the country. The passion showed for the game here in Sri Lanka needs to be supported,” said Abeysinghe.

Hameedia has been involved with sports activities in Sri Lanka since the 1990s and this fact was reiterated by Brand Manager of Signature Amjad Marikar. “Our brand targets the younger generation. Rugby is the second most popular sport in Sri Lanka and Signature is proud to be associated with the sport,” said Marikar.

Natalie Ferdinands, Project Manager of Webxpay, said that tying up with SLR gave the establishment she represents a great opportunity to move forward as a brand. “Webxpay is happy to support Sri Lankan sport during a tough time like this,” said Ferdinands.

The Rugby Sevens event at the Commonwealth Games will be held from July 29-31 at the Coventry Stadium. The Sri Lankan players, like some of the other teams contesting the event, booked their passage to England through their performances at IRB’s regional qualifiers.

Illyas speaking further at the media briefing said that the Sri Lanka players would be attending training camps which are to be held at Sooriyawewa and Kitulgala before their depature.

“The players are training thrice a day at present and we are in touch with famed rugby sevens consultant Ben Gollings who has recommended that the players be made to do outbound training. This type of training bonds the players and will help prepare them for the games. Our preparations may be low compared to other teams at the tournament but we are doing all we can to prepare them mentally for the upcoming tournament,” said Illyas.

The men’s team is coached by Nilfer Ibrahim while the women’s team is coached by Saliya Kumara.

New Zealand did well at the last edition of the Games held at Gold Cost where its men’s and women’s teams bagged the gold medals.