Colombo Synergy Rugby & Football Academy maiden Awards Night on Thursday

To celebrate its fifth anniversary, Colombo Synergy Rugby & Football Academy (CSR&FA) is planning to stage a gala Awards Night on 26 July at Sasakawa Reception Hall, Colombo 3. 

The event will felicitate the performance of its players and reward the Best Outstanding School Boy Rugby Player of Year 2018.

“CSR&FA was founded in 2013 with the sole objective of developing junior rugby in Sri Lanka. We strove hard to introduce the game at junior level, mainly to those schools rugby was a total stranger. By today, we are glad that our efforts have paid off. We were able to open doors to many talented young boys who have taken up this beautiful game of rugby. We believe in values and ethics together with learning the game. We hope this event will take our academy to next level and players and invitees will witness an unforgettable experience,” stated Nazeem Ghaffoor, the Founder Director of CSR&FA.

Nominations have been called from top eight schools (Royal, St. Peter’s, St. Joseph’s, Trinity, Isipathana, Kingswood, Wesley and Zahira) who contested the cup category in second round of schools’ league this year. An independent panel comprising experienced members of different professions in rugby and media has been appointed to choose the Best Outstanding School Boy Rugby Player of Year 2018. The Best Player will walk away with a grand trophy, full scholarship for a high education degree and many more.

“We are confident that the event will provide unforeseen opportunities to all participants, mainly the younger lot. We expect a very high turnout for the event, which is expected to be a fun-filled and memorable day,” Ghaffoor added.

CSR&FA was formed in 2013 with 20 youngsters and by today it has grown to be a haven for 80 kids, mainly from lesser known and international schools that are not engaged in rugby. Including Ghaffoor, who is also a well-read analyst and coach who produced several national players in the past, there are seven members in the coaching staff.

The CSR&FA has been conducting its training sessions at the Prison Grounds in Borella since the inception and they are planning to grow bigger in time to come.

“One of our biggest achievements was that CSR&FA had been able to reach players of schools that rugby is not part of their extra-curricular activities. Our exercise in introducing rugby to players of these schools through our academy has turned out to be a great success. One of our major achievements was to get the players from International Schools into rugby. International Schools very seldom show interest on rugby as their main sports are either football or basketball. But CSR&FA has a good number of players from this sector.  “Another of our efforts is to highlight players from schools that are not into rugby, to the mercantile sector, so they can be supported in the future. We plan to grow and help the children in our academy too grow simultaneously, through events like these. Ramzeen Slamath, the Project Chairman, and Irfan Lye, the Director Administration, are spearheading the project,” Ghaffoor explained.

The inaugural Colombo Synergy Awards night will be sponsored by Arpico Finance (Al-Jabal) Finance Ltd., which has come forward to support the event and the game with great enthusiasm. Amana Takaful and ICBT Campus will be Silver sponsors of the event. M.Y.M. Mashar in remembrance of late A.R.M. Yousuf will be the Bronze sponsor for the event.

Nilfer Ibrahim, Head Coach for the National under 20 team will grace the awards ceremony in the evening of the day of the event, as the Chief Guest.

Top contributors to and former greats in rugby Ibrahim ‘Tanker’ Hamid, Tony Amit and Hisham Abdeen will mark their presence at the event as special invitees.