Odisha Govt To Sponsor Indian Rugby Teams for 3 Years

After sponsoring the Indian National hockey teams, Odisha Government has extended its support to the Indian Rugby Teams as well. The Odisha Government signed an agreement with the Indian Rugby Football Union (IRFU) on Tuesday to facilitate high performance training and conditioning of the players till 2023.

Vineel Krishna, Director- cum-Additional Secretary and Maneck Unwala, signed the agreement on behalf of the two parties in the presence of Odisha Sports Minister Tusharkanti Behera, CEO, IRFU Naseer Hussain and actor, director and former Rugby International player Rahul Bose.

“This is a significant partnership for us. In recent years, we have seen a steady rise of rugby in terms of popularity and participation. This partnership between Odisha Government and Rugby India will not only help develop the sport of rugby further in Odisha and India, but also support and strengthen the high performance training of Indian National Rugby Teams,” said Minister Tusharkanti Behera.

The sponsorship will be extended towards training, conditioning and incentivizing the Indian national rugby teams (men & women) participating in international rugby events.

“This is a historic day for Indian Rugby. Thanks to this sponsorship from the Government of Odisha, national rugby players (women and men) will, for the first time ever, be paid for their services to the Indian rugby teams. This marks a first, solid step towards making rugby a professional sport in the country. Today we celebrate the long-standing partnership we have with Odisha as we pave the way for a bright future for our athletes,” he said.