Uganda Breweries Limited, through its premium brand, Guinness, has announced its renewed commitment towards the sport of rugby in Uganda.
In partnership with the Uganda Rugby Union, Guinness has announced a contribution of UGX 200 million to the Uganda National Sevens team. The renewed partnership will be running for the next three years. Of the contribution, UGX 100 million has been contributed in cash and the rest will be additional support.
This is not the first time Uganda Breweries Limited is supporting Uganda’s rugby sport. In the past, there have been partnerships with Bell Lager and also with Guinness.
There has been an increase of support from fans and the growth in popularity for the National 7s team both in Uganda and on a global level.
Starting Saturday, 12th August to 16th September, there will be the 2017 National Sevens Rugby Series that will transcend the country at the different rugby clubs. This year’s rugby 7s series will be played at six different venues which are; Kyadondo, Jinja, Legends, Gulu, Makerere, and the final will be held at Legends.
The games will also act as a build up to the upcoming Rugby Africa 7s Cup which will be hosted in Kampala on the 6th – 7th October.
Guinness has joined the rugby fraternity to help support and build the sport in the country as well as pivot the national sevens team to greater heights.
Speaking during the announcement of the partnership, Uganda Breweries Limited Head of Beers, Estella Muzito said; “Through Uganda Breweries Limited, Guinness has for many years been involved in the developing of sports in Uganda. While our efforts and those of other like-minded institutions to build a vibrant and successful rugby industry have brought great success, we acknowledge that the rugby fans must be further enlightened and involved fully.”
“Guinness will be spearheading the drive to enable Uganda’s rugby sevens category continue to achieve continental and global glory. We hope that with this commitment, we can all work together to ensure the growth of the sport and the positive representation of Uganda.” She added.
Speaking at the announcement of their partnership with Guinness, Mr. Andrew Owor, the President of the Uganda Rugby Union said; “We are delighted to have Guinness once again come back to support rugby. The upcoming series will be a thriller for both the players and the fans as we prepare for the Rugby Africa Sevens Championship later this year. We hope that we can have more organizations join us to help build the sport of rugby in the country.”
The new sevens format will have ten core member clubs and two invitational teams at each circuit. There will be a weekly ranking of teams based on their performance during the circuits.
The rugby 7s series will be in six venues around the country with twenty-two teams and an estimated 2,000 participants that are expected to take part.