RWC 2019 Impact Beyond Programme Assists 25,000 Vulnerable Youth
September 20, 2019
With Rugby World Cup 2019 kicking off today, World Rugby has announced that its Impact Beyond legacy programme has helped over 25,000 young people in Laos, the Philippines and Vietnam through the ChildFund Pass It Back initiative.
Additionally, the programme has achieved 1.8 million new rugby participants across Asia, including more than one million in Japan.
Started in 2016, the innovative Impact Beyond project is a crucial factor in World Rugby’s mission to grow the game globally and make a positive impact through the power of rugby.
The on-going legacy programme – a partnership between World Rugby, the Japan Rugby Football Union and Asia Rugby – surpassed all expectations by achieving its target of one million new rugby participants in Asia a year early.
In Japan alone more than 769,000 schoolchildren have been introduced to tag rugby in more than 6,000 elementary schools. Crucially for the long-term legacy, the programme has also included the training of 10,622 tag teachers who will continue to inspire and engage future generations long after Rugby World Cup 2019 has finished.
Rugby and its character building values has the power to positively impact lives and thanks to its partnership with principal Rugby World Cup 2019 charity ChildFund Pass It Back, 25,000 vulnerable children in Asia will have the opportunity to transform their lives through a rugby and life skills programme. The Pass It Back initiative led by ChildFund in partnership with World Rugby and Asia Rugby in countries including Laos, Philippines and Vietnam will receive £2 million pledged by the global rugby family in a wonderful display of generosity and solidarity from rugby fans, worldwide partners and individual donors.
Children with little or no access to organised sport will benefit from the support and receive important learning opportunities around leadership, problem-solving, gender equality and conflict-resolution.
World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: “The incredible achievement of reaching 1.8 million new rugby participants in Asia through the Impact Beyond legacy programme is a wonderful example of the outstanding efforts being put into action to convert this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to grow rugby in Asia and around the globe."
In addition to impact on the general public, Rugby World Cup 2019 will deliver a tangible legacy for Japanese infrastructure. A new stadium was built in Kamaishi, a region devastated by the 2011 tsunami, and two others have been completely refurbished, in Hanazono and Kumagaya, bringing them up to international test match level.