By KELVIN ANTHONY
Rosy Hearts Investments Limited poured a major boost into the Fiji-Indo Rugby 7s Tournament after the company made a $500 sponsorship for the Indo rugby competition today.
The one day sevens rugby tournament has so far attracted six-teams from around Viti Levu to help revive rugby in the Indo-Fijian population in Fiji and generate interest amongst young Fijians of Indian descent.
The confirmed teams for event are Nakasi Highlanders, Raiders, Ba, Lautoka, Nadi, and Wainivula Eels – the organisers of the tournament.
The theme for the tournament is ‘Promoting the game. Let’s play rugby!’ to promote the game further. Tournament organising committee member, Kelvin Anthony said that the sponsorship was very timely as the entry for the tournament closes this Saturday.
“We are grateful for the support from Rosy Hearts as we near the tournament date. This certainly gives Indo rugby some life and will help us immensely to successfully organise the tournament,” Anthony said.
Other organisations that have step forward to support the initiative are Bank of South Pacific, Digicel Fiji, Radical Computers, as well as individual who have made contributions in cash or kind.
Anthony said that with the $500 sponsorship Rosy Hearts qualify to get the naming rights for the event which will now be called the ‘Rosy Hearts Fiji-Indo Rugby 7s Tournament.’
“Many Fijians of Indian descent have shown interest to get involved which is a sign for better things to come for Indo-rugby, starting from this tournament,” he said.
“We want to take the first step and get things going to promote our strategic objective of promoting rugby in the Indo-Fijian population, and we want to do this by working in partnership with key stakeholders involved.”
“So this is the opportunity for all those young Fijians of Indian descent to get serious. The more interest and commitment they will show, the faster we will grow. We are very serious and want to see more Indo-Fijians actively participating in rugby as players rather than just being the spectators,” Anthony added.
The tournament will be held on Saturday, 28 September at the University of the South Pacific, Laucala Campus Grounds.