By Floyd Christie
The Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) yesterday received government’s promised financial support at the office of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports on Main Street.
President of the GRFU, Kit Nascimento, received the $5M cheque from the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony at a simple presentation ceremony in the minister’s office.
Nascimento, who spoke briefly following his receipt of the cheque, lauded the government for its contribution. He particularly acknowledged President Bharrat Jagdeo, who had promised them the funding in support of the national Seven’s rugby team that will be representing Guyana at the rugby Sevens events of the 2010 Commonwealth Games to be held in New Delhi, India on October 11 and 12.
“Without their support it would’ve been very difficult for us to meet the cost of going to the games,” Nascimento stated.
He said that the team will strive to be successful at the games as this is “an enormous honour for Guyana.”
”This is the third largest multi-sport event in the world, the rugby Sevens has the biggest television audience and we are the only rugby team and indeed the only sports team that is representing our region at the games,” Nascimento observed.
Though the national Sevens team will be going up against professional world class teams at the Commonwealth Games, Nascimento reiterated that the team “will represent Guyana as successfully as any other sporting team.”
“Anything is possible, but realistically we are aiming for bronze,” Nascimento added, in relation to how successful the team will be as they aim for the podium.
Minister Anthony recapped on the team’s previous successes and stated that the government was “very pleased” and willing to support the national Sevens team since they have demonstrated in the past that they are truly champions.
“The President has been following the progress the team has made and he was pleased with their performance,” Anthony said.
“This is not just a one off performance, they have played at a high level over the past years… we think that our team is getting better at each one of these tournaments,” Dr. Anthony added while urging the public to rally around the team.
Nascimento also highlighted other sponsors who have extended valuable support to the team’s current day-to-day preparation. These include The Water Store, which provides all ice and water for the team’s nightly training sessions and Fitness Express, which makes vitamins and recovery protein available.
