AR President flies in from Moscow for Dialog Asian Sevens Series 2021 launch

Amali Nanayakkara, Group Chief Marketing Officer handing over the first ever Dialog Asia Rugby Sevens fan jersey to Qais Al-Dhalai, President, Asia Rugby in the presence of Hon. Namal Rajapaksa MP, Minister of Youth and Sports. Also in picture (L-R) Harsha Samaranayake, Senior General Manager – Brand and Media, Group Marketing, Dialog Axiata PL C and  Asanga Seneviratne, Chairman – Competition and High Performance, Asia Rugby.

Amali Nanayakkara, Group Chief Marketing Officer handing over sponsorship to Qais Al-Dhalai, President, Asia Rugby in the presence of Hon. Namal Rajapaksa MP, Minister of Youth and Sports. Also in picture (L-R) Harsha Samaranayake, Senior General Manager – Brand and Media, Group Marketing, Dialog Axiata PLC  and  Asanga Seneviratne, Chairman – Competition and High Performance, Asia Rugby. 

By Ranil Prematilake

Armed with the theme of equality, accountability and transparency Qais Al-Dhalai, President, Asia Rugby (AR) flew in from Moscow yesterday to grace the launch of the Dialog Asian Sevens Series 2021 at the Port City Gallery. 
Dhalai in his brief address stated thus “Asia has the biggest potential to popularize this sport that we all love making it a truly international sport for all, male and female. The ultimate objective of Asia rugby was always to partner with a reputable and efficient organisation which we found Dialog super fit. Asia has over 130,750 registered players, 450,000 regular participants and nearly 1,000,000 social media followers” added the AR head to drive home his point.

The event served as a precursor to resumption of rugby in Asia this weekend in Dubai, yet another sport which came to a grinding halt occasioned by the covid-19 pandemic. Interestingly the involvement of Dialog Axiata PLC in the 2021 edition can be termed an unprecedented initiative by a Sri Lankan conglomerate exploring into regional rugby sponsorship, a step forward from its continued involvement of sponsoring the Sri Lankan edition of the Asian Sevens Rugby Series since 2015, albeit the quantum of the sponsorship was kept confidential. 
Key mastermind of the Dialog Sevens Series 2021 Dubai edition Asanga Seneviratne had this to say “He (President AR) was in Moscow. He’s just signed a contract for 12 teams in Asia to play in Russia. The first ever club tournament to be organized in Russia. He’s just flown down from Moscow to be with us”. 

Minister of Sports Namal Rajapaksa sounded confident that this partnership would go from strength to strength. “Let’s get together and strengthen our sport and help youngsters to move forward. With corporates coming into the picture, it will give us better opportunities” said the Minister, not forgetting to make a comment on a lighter vein to the effect that “I hope you are not angry with me about this super tax, it’s a one-time tax, hopefully”. 
The event was lit up when Dialog, together with Asia Rugby launched a unique fan jersey ahead of the tourney that captures the spirit of rugby in the Asian continent. The fan jersey designed and stitched in Sri Lanka, encompasses the vibrant colours and unique designs of Asia as well as sporting the map of the continent on the right-hand sleeve, which incidentally has the highest viewership for rugby in the world. The fan jersey would be available in all sizes at leading fashion retail outlets at a price of Rs.1,650/-.