Kenya boost courtesy of rugby
Sports is one of the avenues
through which countries really develop when they host sport tournaments like
the Tour de France on a consistent basis.
And while Kenya, just announced by
Rugby Africa as the host of this year’s Barthes U20 Trophy, won’t host it every
year, it will for the next three years and you can be sure they will be three
years of boom for it in every facet.
Rugby Africa
(www.RugbyAfrique.com) announced the successful bid of Kenya Rugby to host the
U20 Barthés Trophy, sponsored by Société Générale, for three consecutive years.
Reacting, Kenya Rugby Union
Chairman, Oduor Gangla, said, "The Kenya Rugby Union and the entire Kenyan
people are thrilled by the excellent news from Rugby Africa awarding Kenya the
Barthes U20 Trophy hosting rights for the next three years. It is indeed a
great honour to all of us.”
Also speaking, Guédel N’Diaye,
President, Competition Commission at Rugby Africa and President, Senegal Rugby
Federation, said, “The U20 Barthés Trophy marks the first tournament in the
Rugby Africa calendar this year. We believe that we need this kind of
commitment as shown by Kenya Rugby Union to strengthen our sport for a
sustainable and strong future. With solid commitment we can equally build a
successful broadcast and commercial program around the event. The young players
are our major asset in terms of growing participation and fan base. The U20
Barthés Trophy tournament speaks to our long-term strategy for Africa to become
the breeding ground of the next generation of world class athletes. Through
this competition we can measure the real progress accomplished by the
federation in terms of the development rugby amongst the youth. 80% of the
selected players evolved from their local championships.”
The Barthés Trophy is the only
junior tournament in Africa and 8 national U20 teams compete for the it.
Participating teams in 2020 (in order of the current ranking) are Kenya,
Namibia, Senegal, Madagascar, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Côte d'Ivoire, Zambia.
The 2020 edition of the U20
Barthés Trophy will be held on April 19, 22 and 26 in Nairobi, Kenya.
Comments
Post a Comment