Rugby set to get sponsor

By Paul Munyuki
AFTER almost a decade of unbranded rugby action, the National Rugby League look set to get a sponsor this season following revelations that Delta Beverages are coming on board.
The league has been without a sponsor since Delta Beverages, through their Lion Lager brand, pulled out at the turn of the millennium.
ZRU president Sithembilenkosi Sibanda on Wednesday professed ignorance over the deal while his general manager Grant Mitchell said he was “not sure” of the deal.
However, The Herald can disclose that Delta Beverages have agreed in principle to sponsoring the league though there are still “a few gray areas they are still working on.”
“We are involved in talks and there are some areas that still need to be worked on so that we finalise the contract for the 2011 rugby season. We have not reached a conclusion on the deal but once we have a deal we will announce the full details,” said the sources.
If the deal goes through, Delta will be the second company to be involved with rugby this year after retail giants Spar Zimbabwe committed themselves to the Cheetahs.
Spar are also sponsoring the Summer Series Rugby Sevens tournament that will run for three weekends starting this Saturday at Old Georgians Sports Club.
However, it is the expected return of Delta Beverages into the rugby family that the fraternity is hoping will boost the game. Teams had also been struggling to source funds for their away games especially between Harare, Mutare and Bulawayo who have three teams in the A-League.
The league games are expected to get underway on April 2 but teams are preparing for the pre-season games that start with a Sevens Series at Old Georgians Sports Club tomorrow.

 

 

ZRU treasurer Ngoni Mudzamiri indicated they started the year with a deficit as funding proved to be their major challenge in 2010.
Their account was US$100 000 in the red.
“The Union’s income was not sufficient to meet expenditure and are large portion of the operations were funded by creditors in the absence of sponsors and the Union has again posted a loss.
“We also acknowledge the fact that there are a number of individuals, players, officials and companies that are still owed money by the Union,” said Mudzamiri.