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Colombia Rugby (Federación Colombian de Rugby – FeCo) is receiving notable government investment. The national governing body of rugby is to receive US$300,000 from the Colombian government, creating development and capture centers nationwide.
FeCo president, Andrés Gómez Castaño confirmed that the institution will be receiving the above mentioned amount which is 1,100 million pesos in Colombian currency; the investment is for the year 2020.
Never before has FeCo received a financial injection of this magnitude. It comes following a recent agreement that was reached between the organization and the government which is common to thirteen olympic sports.
Gómez Castaño noted that the investment will aid in areas of coaching, high performance and the creation and expansion of regional development centers. In short, Colombia is implementing a model similar to that in Argentina following RWC 2007.
The development centers for 2021 are to be located in Bogotá, Cúcuta, Pereira and Colombia’s Caribbean coast in a yet to be confirmed location.
The investments come as Colombia is moving towards professional rugby. The Cafeteros Pro were to be an exhibition team in the inaugural Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR). The COVID-19 pandemic meant that the competition was suspended earlier, thus preventing the team from featuring.
The assistance from the Colombian government mean that the Cafeteros Pro may instead debut in the 2021 competition.
