The newly-formed Bahrain Rugby Federation (BRF) has been accepted as an associate member by Asian Rugby, the regional governing body of the sport, as it continues to grow in popularity in the kingdom.
The development comes after BRF president, Nader Shaheen, made a presentation at the Asian Rugby Biannual General Assembly in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, highlighting the history of rugby in Bahrain over the past 50 years and the kingdom’s plans to develop the sport in accordance with World Rugby guidelines.
“This is a very big deal,” Shaheen told the GDN. “This means that Bahrain now has the support of the 35 nations within the Asia rugby setup and that the rights of the BRF will be protected.”
The BRF was established in February this year, beginning with the appointment of the BRF committee, headed by Shaheen, on the directives of Supreme Council for Youth and Sport first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee president, Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
Shaheen said that the response to his presentation, made during the three-day Asia Rugby general assembly early this month, had been heartening.
“Representatives of 18 member nations were physically present while 17 participated through an online link,” he explained.
“Once my presentation concluded, everyone voted unanimously in favour of Bahrain joining Asia Rugby. It was quite a special moment.”
Asia Rugby membership enables Bahrain to field a national representative team in competitive and friendly international fixtures against the other 35 member countries, including participation in 15s and 7s tournaments.
It will support the participation of Bahrain Rugby Football Club (BRFC) in cross-border competitions such as the West Asia Premiership and Gulf Conference and will provide access to support in the development of coaches, officials and women’s rugby.
“The BRF will proactively oversee the development of rugby in the kingdom,” Mr Shaheen, who has also served on the Bahrain Rugby Football Club committee, added.
“We will be rolling out a comprehensive plan soon to create outreach which will make it easy for anyone, male or female, to start playing and help them improve their skills through our development programme.”
One of the key areas the BRF would focus on was grassroots development, he added.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to create enough interest and attract enough new talent to be able to continue developing the sport comprehensively at the grassroots level.”
The BRF also intends to launch an initiative designed to reach out to Bahraini school-children to generate involvement in the sport from an early age.
The sport already has a buoyant youth following amongst expatriate children from Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand living in the kingdom.
“One of the key things that we intend to educate children, who take up the sport, about is the psychology of the game, the importance of controlled aggression,” Shaheen added.
“We want to teach them the importance of rigorous training as well as the need to show respect to opponents.
“One of the proudest moments that ever takes place on a rugby field is when oppo-nents applaud each other off the pitch.”
A key role in the BRF’s upcoming initiatives will be played by trained development of-ficers who will create a series of schedules for trials and training sessions that will en-able newcomers and experienced rugby athletes, alike, to understand the rules and regulations applicable internationally and locally, he added.
“Apart from focusing on generating interest within the kingdom,” Shaheen said, “we will also zero in on raising Bahrain’s profile in the international rugby arena as quickly as possible. Also, a country’s associate membership only lasts about a year in Asia Rugby before a vote is taken to grant it full membership. We intend to keep our pace of development aligned with that timeframe.”
BRFC started life as a section of the British Club in 1971, becoming its own separate entity in 1974. With more than 3,000 members, numerous sporting and leisure facilities at its current premises in Janabiya, BRFC has grown to become one of the largest and foremost private members clubs in the kingdom.
In a stunning 2018-19 season Bahrain claimed the Asia Rugby Western Clubs Champions League by defeating the Abu Dhabi Harlequins in front of the club’s fa-mous ‘Red Wall’ of followers.
The team then dominated the Premiership by winning 14 of their 15 games before a victory over Dubai Exiles in the West Asia Cup saw them claim a hat-trick and prove themselves as the dominant force in the continent’s western region, only to be curtailed by the onset of the global pandemic.
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