Ba Rugby’s emergence over the last nine months as a new major union has come with significant extra costs, so the union feels blessed to have found strong support in several Ba-based companies.
Vinod Patel recently signed a three-year sponsorship deal for the naming rights of the Ba men’s 15s team, “This is so much more than branding and marketing,” Vinod Patel CEO Rahul Amin said.
“Ba is part of our corporate DNA. Our humble beginnings began in 1962 when our late visionary Founder Vinod Chandra Patel, set up a small hardware shop in Ba.”
Ba Director of Rugby Vilimoni Delasau says as a kid growing up in Ba in the 1970s and ’80s, he used to visit the Vinod Patel shop.
“Ba Rugby and Vinod Patel have been with me all my life and to get the backing from such a respected organisation is like… well, all the planets are aligned.”
And last week, Ba signed a two-year sponsorship with high performance sports apparel company BLK.
“I know our players will feel the difference on the field with the high-performance features that BLK includes in its uniforms,” Delasau said.
“When you wear the best jersey, you can’t even feel it. It’s like your skin.”
The deal means BLK also becomes Ba Rugby’s official apparel and luggage merchandiser.
BLK General Manager Asesela Serau said: “BLK has shops in Ba, Labasa, Lautoka and Suva, and we will soon be opening a fifth one in Sigatoka.
This means fans of Ba Rugby will be able to pick up official supporters wear across the country.
