NAIROBI, Kenya, May 8 – Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) chair Alexander Sasha Mutai reveals they are in the final stages of signing a partnership deal for the national women’s team.
Mutai said putting pen to paper on the partnership is part of a larger agenda of equipping all national teams with the resources to perform well in international competitions.
“So, we have been in discussions with potential partners and I think we are very close to signing up with them. We are looking at every property of KRU, whether be it Chipu…they have qualified for the Under 20 Rugby Trophy in Scotland. We are looking to get in partners for this team,” Mutai said.
The news is bound to excite the Lionesses whose players have been grappling with financial challenges for a while owing to non-payment of allowances.
The 15s side are presently in Madagascar for the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup whereas the 7s team are readying themselves for next weekend’s final World Rugby Challenger Series in Krackow, Poland.
Chipu, on the other hand, will be in contention at the World Rugby Under 20 Trophy in Scotland in July 2-17.
The youngsters earned the right to compete at the global competition after beating Zimbabwe 28-13 to clinch the Barthes Cup – a fortnight ago in Harare.
The chair believes the good fortunes of the national teams is reason enough for corporates to partner with the union.
“We want to thank all our partners including the government of Kenya. When we get the back-up we require, the results come and you can see the results…they are self-evident for everybody. Kenya is back to winning ways and we are just looking for that support to come in. Corporate Kenya…there are tax benefits for sports sponsorship, which now should be activated,” he said.
Mutai added: “Corporate Kenya is looking for federations with good governance. That’s what we are selling…apart from the performances on the pitch, governance is also right.”
A notable change in the 15s national structure has been the fingerprints of Simbas head coach Jerome Paarwater, who has been working closely with Chipu as well as Lionesses.
Mutai described the South African’s involvement as pivotal to the growth of Kenyan rugby – an aspect that has been enabled by partnership with the World Rugby.
“He is the one setting up the programme for all other national teams of Kenya. He is putting up a structure that all national teams can follow. Of course, World Rugby has come to support us in terms of Jerome anc Chris Brown who has been seconded to Kenya until after the Olympics. So, they also believe in us and are partnering with us because all those costs are catered by them,” the chair said.
The union earlier this year announced a structure for the 15s rugby, starting from the senior level (Simbas) to the under 15 – coached by former player Biko Adema.
