Kano students battle for honours in SWIPHA Rugby Championship

Rugby. Photo; THEGUARDIAN

Over 800 Kano-based students featured in a rugby tournament organised by Swiss Pharma Nigeria Limited, brand owners of SWIPHA.  The competition, organised in partnership with a non-governmental organisation, Reaching Everyone with Accessible Community Healthcare (REACH) and other partners, according to the organisers, featured 30 boys and 11 girls’ teams cut across secondary schools in the state.

Speaking on the initiative, Managing Director, Swiss Pharma Nigeria Limited, Frederic Lieutaud, said the firm decided to sponsor the event because it believes in sports as a major vehicle for social development, healthy lifestyle and identification of talents.

“As a pharmaceutical company, which prides itself on the well-being of people, most especially young people, we have taken it upon ourselves to support the initiative to keep young people fit and healthy, also use the competition to identify new talents.

“This will encourage them to embrace and participate in one sporting activity or the other. As you are aware, regular exercise keeps the mind healthy and we feel it is important to inculcate this idea at an early age for our kids,” Lieutaud said.

Also speaking on the tournament, Chief Operating Officer, EHA Clinics and REACH Programme, Paul Hogan, said the event, which was initiated in Kano nine years ago, is focused on school children from the ages 12 to 14 years. It exposes them to sporting activities and sports education to help them develop healthy lifestyle.

“We started the tournament many years ago but put a halt to it three years ago because of COVID-19 and now this is the first tournament after the pandemic. It is just for the kids to have fun and be educated sport wise,” Hogan said.

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