Papua New Guinea Rugby Football Union has received a sponsorship boost of K400 000 from SP Brewery to host one of their major national tournaments.
This sponsorship is focused on building the game at a provincial level through two channels, namely the Export Rugby Championships and the Export Rugby Sevens Series.
SP Brewery marketing manager Roger Harwood said SP under the brand South Pacific Export Larger is delighted to have an ongoing association with rugby union in PNG.
“Our association to the code started in 2005 and has included the sevens and fifteens format of the game focused on developing the code locally,” he said.
PNGRFL chief executive officer Frank Genia extended his appreciation to SP Brewery for the support financially and promoting the game locally.
He said that this partnership enables PNGRFU to establish provincial rugby competitions within the country.
“This partnership essentially will allow PNGRFU to continue to develop the code and administration at all levels and enable the code to become more completive locally, nationally and internationally.
“With this support we are confident that we’ll establish the crucial component to our player development pathway and begin our journey to fulfilling our objectives.
“These include participating in the Sevens World Series, qualifying for the 2020 Olympics and playing in the Rugby World Cup,” said Genia.
Export Rugby Championships will consist of 12 provincial teams competing within three respective conferences namely the Southern, Northern and New Guinea Islands.
The Export Rugby Sevens Series will consists of five legs, taking into consideration three main factors namely player base, centralised location and the potential to identify new talent and increase senior rugby participation.
Four legs of the series will be played starting in September at each region and the final leg will be the Export Rugby Championships.
This will see all 12 provincial teams compete as well as the four winners from the four series.