Milton High seeks funds for Mwana Group rugby tourney

AS the dates for the highly anticipated 2024 Mwana Group International Schools Rugby Festival draw closer, Milton Boys High School have been working hard behind the scenes to make their participation a memorable one.

The schoolboy fiesta is pencilled for April 28 to May 4 at Prince Edward School in the capital and the Elephants, as Milton are affectionately known, are seeking assistance to fulfil their hopes of competing against some of the best in schoolboys’ rugby in the country.

Speaking to Zimpapers Sports, Milton Boys High headmaster, Similo Ncube said all their preparations for the showdown are going according to plan but are in need of assistance. He thanked the parents for allowing their children to take part at the potentially life changing tournament during the schools holiday.

“So far, what’s happening is that we have been training and that has been going well, the parents gave us a go ahead and the boys have been preparing well. The only challenge we are facing is funding and we wish we had people assisting us because funds are always limited and the sad part is that activities go on regardless.

“Such tournaments could be life changing for our players; others will get careers from sport after participating in such tournaments. Whoever makes it big will be an inspiration not only to everyone in the country but also to the rest of Africa and beyond. We are excited that parents support us and we wish that we also get a helping hand to us as a school, but over and above that, the preparations have been going well and I’m positive of a good result,” said Ncube.

He added that it is such tournaments that the upcoming players get scouted as one would never know who is watching from the side-lines.

“That’s where some players get noticed by the national team, clubs and even schools that are capable.

It’s a blessing to see these kids grow and our wish is that we do not get left out because of funding. We appeal to anyone willing to assist the boys to go all the way and we are looking forward to it,” said Ncube.

About 120 primary and high schools will converge at Prince Edward for the week long rugby festival.

The meet will feature top teams from Zimbabwe, alongside other international teams. The international participants will be from Malawi, Zambia and Botswana.

This will be the first edition of the tournament headlined by Mwana Group International and comes in as a means to resuscitate the traditional schools rugby tournaments that have traditionally been held since 1986. Over the years, the festival has gone through various evolutions with the name of the festival being changed to fit the various headlining sponsors.

Some of the names include the United Bottle Company Festival (1986 – 1987), David Whitehead Rugby Festival (1988 – 1997), Cottco Rugby Festival (1998 – 2013) and the latest, the Dairibord Rugby Festival (2014 – 2019). The tournament was halted by the Covid-19 pandemic between 2020 and 2022 and faced some organisational challenges for the 2023 edition. Mwana Group stepped in as the headlining sponsors for the 2024 – 2028 editions. —@brandon_malvin