– Jagdeo says sudden interest in rugby is because of team’s success
By Marlon Munroe
The Government of Guyana has finally pledged monetary support to the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) after repeated public outcries for its support from the association.
On Friday, president Bharrat Jagdeo met with some executives of the GRFU and a group of local ruggers and promised that the government will assist Guyana’s XIX Commonwealth Games rugby team getting to India.
However, the amount or extent of the sponsorship was not disclosed at the meeting held at the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club pavilion.
A GRFU official revealed that airline tickets for one person to India is somewhere in the region of US $2,500 and Guyana is expected to field about 15 persons inclusive of officials.
Jagdeo, after stating that his government has set aside funds for sports other than cricket and football, said that his administration is “here to support as far as possible.”
The president also pre-empted some persons reactions by saying… “you may ask why the sudden interest and one of the reasons is because you have been successful.”
He pointed out that the second reason is a strategic one because the government realizes that a lot of the funding has been going to cricket and football.
Meanwhile, it must be noted that the GRFU has a demanding international schedule this year and prior to the Commonwealth Games the local team will be looking to have international matches with Canada and England.
Guyana will host the Central American and Caribbean Games from July 24-25 at the Guyana National Stadium.
The government in this case, however, will partner with the GRFU.
Guyana will also host the men’s and women’s Sevens NACRA tournament on July 27-28 and 30-31 respectively.
The local body will bear the brunt of the expense since they will get monetary assistance from the International Rugby Board.
According to an executive of the GRFU, the association will also receive a percentage of its expenses from NACRA to host the event and the Guyana Olympic Association is negotiating with the CAC for other subventions.
The government’s role at this moment is to provide the Guyana National Stadium free of charge for the events.
