Dairiboard has renewed its three year sponsorship for the annual Schools Rugby Festival to be held at Prince Edward School (PE) from 30 April to 6 May this year.

The renewal of the agreement first signed in 2014 will see Dairibord paying up to $250,000 annually for the high-profile international rugby festival,

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Dairiboard representative Emelda Shoko said, “We have enjoyed a fruitful partnership. The last three years we saw our sponsorship of rugby going from strength to strength.The relationship we have enjoyed made us want to come again for another three more years and the memorandum of understanding we are signing indicates our commitment to sports development.”

PE head Dr Agrippa Sora was pleased with the confidence in his administration to handle the large sums of money and the running of the festival.

“I am delighted with the gesture from Dairiboard of renewing the sponsorship Dairiboard Schools Rugby Festival as it is essential in developing our rugby in the country. It is through this festival that we have seen many talents are being churned out,” he said.

The festival attracts more than 200 schools from various countries, and is rated as among the biggest schools rugby festival in the world.  It has been credited for grooming great players such as Springbok star player Tendai ‘Beast’ Mutawarira, and most, if not all of Zimbabwe’s national side.

Festival director Tawanda Jimu said this year’s edition will be bigger and better. “This year’s event will be graced by a top rugby playing school from Namibia. We have also invited other top teams from the region to participate some of which are yet to confirm,” he said.

The festival will also focus on spreading anti-doping messages while creating a family-friendly environment. “To ensure discipline and professionalism among athletes,there will be anti-doping sessions to ensure that athletes are not tempted to indulge in performance –enhancing drugs,” said Jimu.

Last year’s edition saw the introduction of primary schools at the festival, a development the organisers have promised to improve and promote.

Find out more about this year’s event on the Dairibord Schools Rugby Festival Facebook Page.