Funding boost for Asian Five Nations
Series set to change face of game in Asia
Asia received a double boost yesterday with the International Rugby Board (IRB) and a major bank joining hands to pump in more than US$1 million every year for the Asian Five Nations and its related divisional tournaments.
At the launch, attended by Japanese winger Daisuke Ohata, the top try-scorer in international rugby, it was announced that the IRB will give an annual grant of US$500,000 to promote the game regionally and help develop the top tier Asian Five Nations (A5N) championship on the lines of the European Six Nations.
While organisers stayed mum on the financial input from HSBC - which has signed a three-year sponsorship deal - it is reliably learned that they will better the IRB grant every year.
This is the first time HSBC have become involved in local and Asian rugby since they stepped down as title sponsors of the Hong Kong Sevens back in 1997.
'The HSBC Asian Five Nations will be the flagship tournament for Asia, serving to promote and raise awareness of the game in the region at all levels,' said Mark Egan, IRB's head of rugby services. 'This new competition is an exciting development for the game in a region that offers significant potential for growth.' The inaugural A5N will involve Asian champs Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, the Arabian Gulf and Kazakhstan in a single round robin competition in April-May. Twenty other countries will be involved in the lower tiers with promotion and relegation opportunities for all teams.
In 2010, the top tier A5N will be used by the IRB to decide Asia's representatives for the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.
'This competition is vital for the development and expansion of rugby throughout Asia,' said Ross Mitchell, secretary general of the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU).
Mitchell revealed that ARFU had signed up ESPN-STAR who will show a six-week package which will feature a match of the week from the A5N and a one-hour tournament highlight programme which will involve all the other tiers.
'Asian rugby will get lot more exposure and this will benefit the game. And this tournament, which has replaced the former Asian Rugby Football Tournament, will be played in more locations,' Mitchell added.
The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union had played a leading role in securing HSBC as title sponsors. 'It is great to see them involved again in local rugby,' smiled Brian Stevenson, president of the HKRFU.
'We are proud to be able to sponsor Asian rugby and launch an exciting new regional event across 25 Asian countries and territories. The three-year sponsorship demonstrates our strong commitment to Asia and our ambition to grow this emerging sport in an emerging region,' said Sandy Flockhart, chief executive of HSBC Asia Pacific.
Along with Ohata, who holds the world record for most tries in test rugby (69 from 58 tests for Japan), the captains of Arabian Gulf (Diarmud O'Malley), South Korea (Young Hun-han), and Hong Kong (Semi Iafeta) were present at the launch. The Kazakhstan representative couldn't make it as he was denied a visa.
'Visas won't be an issue. We are confident we can get visas for the team,' said Mitchell. Hong Kong is due to host Kazakhstan on May 3.
Ohata, who is out of this year's competition with injury, said he hoped the tournament could help play a role in bridging the gap between Asia and the rest of the world.
Out of this world
Japan's Daisuke Ohata has scored this many tries in 58 internationals, a world record: 69
