Caltex joined the scrum when SLRFU was in need
By A.C De Silva
OBSERVER-CALTEX RUGBY AWARDS: The meeting started quietly after a
slight delay and Kishu Gomes - the CEO/MD Chevron Lubricants PLC, first
of all thanked the Sunday Observer for the wonderful coverage of the
matches which ultimately brought good response from the readers.
The Editor-in-Chief of Sunday Observer Dinesh Weerawansa and Waruna
Mallawarachchi helped get the support of the rugby playing public
interested with their wide coverage of rugby football matches.
The public support for rugby matches grew with the fine coverage. The
Editor-in- Chief of the Sunday Observer - Dinesh Weerawansa said that
the Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year Contest where the voting on
the Most Popular Cricketers, both in Colombo and the Outstation Towns is
shooting up each week and it was the same when the competitions were
held for rugby football.
It was the spectator support that really pushed Kandy Sports Club and
Navy on their giant upward trend in rugby football.
Kishu Gomes - CEO/MD of Chevron Lubricants PLC, (Caltex) in a very
emotional speech which was highly appreciated by the entire audience
present at Galle Face Hotel on Thursday night, said that Caltex spends a
lot of money in their sponsorship drive. He said that Caltex has spent
around 450 million dollars in promoting the game in the past 13 years.
He said that promoting the game on the correct lines takes a lot of
money.
Caltex started promotion
Gomes said that from 1999 Caltex started the promotion of the game
when the SLRFU was in dire need of funds to continue the game. Gomes
went on to explain the criteria used to recruit the marketing heads
simply for the love of the game. Kishu Gomes also made personal
sacrifices too. The head of Chevron Lubricants PLC, Gomes said that only
a very few companies in Sri Lanka that sponsor sports.
He said that no other company has stood with the game of rugby
football for 13 years, but Chevron Lubricants PLC, has set a record in
Sr Lanka which every single sports lover should admire and respect.
A little bird whispers that the Rugby Football Union of Sri Lanka is
contemplating getting a new sponsor to get a little more money to the
union somewhat disregarding the agreement signed covering the 2014 rugby
season too.
Asanga Seneviratne - President of Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union and
Vice- President, SLC, first and foremost congratulated Kandy Rugby
Football Club for the wonderful displays that they have put on show in
listing the Rugby Plum for many years.
He also congratulated the Sri Lanka Navy for their wonderful
displays. He said that apart from Chevron Lubricants, it has been
difficult to round up sponsors for the game of rugby football. He said
that they get only very little support from Bluechip companies and the
President of Sri Lanka has set out a path which we will be following.
The new Minister of Sports Aluthgamage is working hard to take the game
forward. "We have big plans to change the game plan," Asanga Seneviratne
said.
However, Chevron Lubricants PLC, won't be pushed out. "We can talk
things over and come to some sort of settlement," he told Kishu Gomes -
the Chevron Lubricants boss.
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