BY FEVERPITCH TEAM
LEFT: Collins Injera in a past IRB Series. RIGHT: Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore. [PHOTOS: FILE / STANDARD]
Kenya has officially kick-started its bid to host one of the HSBC Sevens World Series for the 2014/15 season.
This was revealed yesterday during a high-level meeting which brought majority of stakeholders together.
A Kenya Bid Steering Committee was set up, comprising top Government officials and corporate chiefs.
Bob Collymore, the Chief Executive Officer of Safaricom Limited, the country’s main sponsors of Sevens Rugby, hosted the invited panel at the Michael Joseph Centre in Westlands, Nairobi. The committee is set to start work immediately with their first meeting early next week.
Colymore and Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) chairman, Mwangi Muthee, said the bid could only be successful “if all Kenyans, from the very top to the bottom, support it.”
The IRB (International Rugby Board) will be expanding the World Series from the current nine rounds to 10 or up to 12 rounds beginning in the 2014/15 season. Among other expected bidders to be included in the expanded roster are: Singapore, Buenos Aires, Paris and Rome.
Kenya hope that their 17-year-old annual international tournament – the Safaricom Sevens – will get a fair nod from IRB decision makers come the conclusion of the 2013/2014 HSBC World Sevens Series season.
Convincing bid
Muthee said: “The absolute backing of our sponsors Safaricom, makes the KRU confident that the country will work on a convincing bid. But almost everything hinges on the practical support of the Government and the people of Kenya.”
Taking charge in Ministry of Sports, Culture and Arts will be Cabinet Secretary Dr Hassan Wario’s representative, Ambassador Ann Nyikuli.
Muthee said the Government understood the huge gains the country will have if the Safaricom Sevens are included in the World Series boosting Kenya’s tourism, trade and positive publicity.
Rugby Bid Committee gets to work and appoints working team to bring HSBC ...
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét