‘I Heart Rugby’ sets out to promote rugby in Sri Lanka

Thursday, 27 April 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Rugby, a fine sport which builds character, discipline, sportsmanship, teamwork and respect, used to be immensely popular in Sri Lanka. With cricket becoming a national obsession after the 1996 World Cup win, rugby’s popularity declined, though it still continues to flourish in major cities such as Colombo and Kandy.

With around 103,000 registered players, Sri Lanka is home to the second-largest pool of registered players in Asia, just behind Japan. A young team of passionate rugby lovers, who themselves were involved with the game in various ways, has set out to change this and help Sri Lanka reclaim its rightful spot on the global rugby stage.

“We believe that rugby in Sri Lanka has a lot more room to grow, and that there is a lot of potential for the sport in the country. We initiated ‘I Heart Rugby’ to achieve this exact same purpose – make Rugby in Sri Lanka more popular and more accessible. Over the coming months, we will be announcing a number of initiatives towards this end, with many more in the pipeline. As a result of our efforts, we hope to contribute towards uplifting the standards of the game in this country,” said Hakiem Hanif, founder of ‘I Heart Rugby’.

Commenting further, he said: “We invite all like-minded parties, whether they be individuals or organisations, to join hands with us to support this cause,” he said.

For more information visit http://iheartrugby.com and the group’s Facebook page.