Rs. 65 million sponsorship for School Rugby by Dialog
The silverware on offer was unvieled at the launch on Friday
In a historic move ever made by a corporate sponsor in Sri Lanka, Dialog Axiata PLC will take the honour of nurturing rugby, from bottom to top as they officially announced the tie-up with Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA).
Dialog Axiata has already secured the Domestic League Championship, by being the main sponsor for the past nine years. In addition they sponsor the national 15s and 7s Men’s teams and are the sponsors of the Colombo Leg of the Asian 7s Series, conducted by Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR). By sponsoring the SLSRFA tournaments, Dialog will become the sole sponsor of boys and men’s rugby of Sri Lanka.
The commitment will see Dialog Axiata pump in Rs. 65million, mainly focusing the Schools League and Schools Knockout championships, while covering other age categories of junior level. The package includes monetary grants to each school, within an allocation of Rs. 25million from the whole package.
“Besides the grant to schools the sponsor has officially given us their consent in supplying two playing kits each for a team, playing balls and other basic needs to schools from the Division II and Division III segments. We are really pleased with this move, which will benefit these schools as well as the game in a massive way,” stated Susantha Mendis, the Senior Vice President of SLSRFA.
“We are proud to enter into a three-year sponsorship agreement with SLSRFA for the Schools Rugby League and Knockout tourneys to empower our champions of tomorrow. This commitment is in line with Dialog’s ethos of investing in our future, today, as exemplified through our sponsorships towards the sport of Rugby from the School level to the National level, to support the development of talent that has the potential for excellence in the international arena,” stated Amali Nanayakkara, the Group Chief Marketing Officer of Dialog Axiata PLC.
In addition the SLSRFA has drawn plans to introduce a similar tournament as the famous Schools League, for Girls’ Schools beginning from this season. This competition is expected to cover all age groups beginning from non-competitive up to Under-19s.
The launch event was held at BMICH on Friday evening where officials representing SLR, SLSRFA, Sri Lanka Rugby Referees’ Society, schools and the sponsor took equal privileges. At the launch all officials of SLR, SLSRFA and the Referees’ Society pledged to work in cohesion to dish out a smooth school rugby season, while also looking seriously at development of the game at grassroots level.