The Kenya Breweries Limited, through its flagship brand Tusker, announced a 115 million investment in Kenya Rugby.
From this investment, Kshs. 37.5 Million will go into supporting the Kenya Rugby Union in all its activities, including the men’s and women’s national Sevens and Fifteens teams.
The brand’s investment will also go into rugby clubs across the country as well as universities in an effort to grow and nurture rugby talent in Kenya.
This announcement comes at an opportune time for Kenyan rugby, as the Sevens teams kick off preparations for the Olympic qualifiers to be held later in the year.
Speaking during the launch ceremony held at a Nairobi Hotel, KBL Managing Director Jane Karuku, said the investment is a big commitment to continue growing and developing the sport in the country. She also mentioned that part of the investment will go into ensuring that this year’s edition of the Safari Sevens.
“We want to see the Safari sevens this year, getting back to its former glory, when it was the Tusker Safari sevens that is why we have also set aside part of our investment to ensure that we achieve this,” she said.
On his part the Kenya Rugby Union Chairman, Mr. Oduor Gangla thanked Tusker for its effort in developing Kenyan rugby.
“Tusker has been associated with the Safari Sevens in different capacities for over twenty years, as the Title Sponsor and as the Official Alcoholic Beverage partner. It is very reassuring to see them continue to support this event.”
“It promises to be a great march forward for players and fans and we thank Tusker for their continued belief and support of the Kenya Rugby Union,” Gangla concluded.
Last season, the National Kenya Sevens struggled through their matches in the HSBC World Sevens series. The major reason why Shujaa was hardly winning matches is the absence of senior players.
Senior Shujaa players had boycotted training and matches because of low salaries. The Union had to work with a new team which took time to settle. At the time, the union did not have the funds to fulfill senior players’ wishes.
With the 115 million investment, Shujaa will now lack excuses for poor performance. Last season, the team missed relegation closely but in the coming season, there is hope for better performance.
After a successful national sevens series, rugby action moves to Nakuru, on the 21st of September, where the Kenya Simbas will host Zimbabwe in their last fixture of the 2019 Victoria Cup, with the Safari Sevens slated for the 18th to 20th of October.
