Societe Generale partners with Rugby India

Partners with Rugby India to promote the sport

MUMBAI, 01-Aug-2016 — /EuropaWire/ — Societe Generale, today announced its partnership with Rugby India, to promote the sport in the country. Societe Generale comes on board as the ‘Financial Partner of Rugby India’ and ‘Title Sponsor of the Indian National Rugby Sevens Team’ across all categories — Senior, Junior and Women. This announcement was made at the launch event today attended by Evelyne Collin, Chief Executive and Country Officer, Societe Generale India; Mahesh Mathai, Honorable Secretary General, Rugby India; Aga Hussain – Senior Vice President, Rugby India and Vice President, Asia Rugby.

Societe Generale has also extended financial support to World Rugby’s ‘Get Into Rugby’ (GIR) programme, an initiative for Rugby India to teach rugby at schools and motivate children to get into the sport. Kick-started in India in July 2013, the GIR programme has reached over 30,000 participants (42 per cent of whom are women) by March 2016. The extended support will provide a pathway to further build and groom sports talent from grassroots in schools, districts and states as well as inculcate rugby’s core values – Respect, Discipline and Team Spirit.

Rugby Seven’s inclusion in this year’s Olympics has increased its popularity all over the world. In partnership with Rugby India, Societe Generale will help nurture talent and fuel interest for Rugby in the country from the grassroots, improving the overall playing standard and competitiveness of the sport. This partnership is part of the “Citizenship Programme” developed by Societe Generale, aiming to support underprivileged communities through education and sports in all countries where it operates.

Societe Generale has a legacy of promoting Rugby globally since 1987. The Group first partnered with Rugby World Cup in 1991 and has since then reiterated its support for every key event. These close and lasting links between Societe Generale and Rugby have naturally led to this partnership with Rugby India. Rugby has become part of the DNA of Societe Generale through shared values of Team Spirit, Commitment, Responsibility and Innovation which are the company’s driving force. They symbolize the Group’s essence of promoting a unified team across diverse cultures, countries, people and languages, working together to benefit its employees and clients in particular.

Highlighting Societe Generale’s global and local commitment to promote rugby, Evelyne Collin, Chief Executive and Country Officer – India said, “Societe Generale’s partnership with Rugby India perfectly reflects what we want to build with our clients and employees: a solid individual and collective commitment, and a desire to move forward together. We share a common vision to train, develop and groom the potential sports talent from the grassroots in the country, especially at locations where resources are limited. Through the ‘Get Into Rugby’ programme, we will reach out to students and help build a talented pool of sportspersons for international events like the Olympics. We are committed to making Rugby accessible to everyone and we hope that together with Rugby India we can help build strong national teams.”

On the partnership with Societe Generale, Rugby India General Manager Nasser Hussain said, “We wish to thank Societe Generale for their generous support of coming onboard as the Title and Financial Sponsor of the Indian National Rugby teams and also for supporting the ‘Get into Rugby’ programme, which is a global initiative to spread awareness of the sport and increase participation in India. I am confident that the shared core values of Societe Generale and Indian Rugby will ensure that this partnership thrives and is beneficial to 1,00,000 students by 2018 across 21 states.”

Rahul Bose, actor, philanthropist and an avid Rugby player in the Indian National Rugby Team said “I am thrilled that Societe Generale, an organization with such a rich global rugby lineage has come on board to support Rugby in India. This is also the first time, that a corporate is investing in the Get Into Rugby program which will look at harnessing talent from the grassroots. With the inclusion of Rugby in Olympics, the association with Societe Generale has come at right time to give the sport a much needed boost to take it to the next level in India.”

Societe Generale and Rugby India will jointly oversee the organization and promotion of Rugby in the following senior, junior and women’s categories:

• National-level tournaments (Rugby Sevens, Under-19, 17, 14)
• Get Into Rugby (grassroots-level children)
• Training and education workshops (physical trainers and sports teachers)
• School games – national and state orientation programme

For further information, please contact:
Societe Generale
Aparupa Sur
E-mail: aparupa.sur@socgen.com
Telephone: +91 022 6630 9607

Rugby India
Nasser Hussain
E-mail: nasser.hussain@rugbyindia.in
Telephone: +91 022 2205 3897

Societe Generale
Societe Generale is one of the largest European financial services groups. Based on a diversified universal banking model, the Group combines financial solidity with a strategy of sustainable growth, and aims to be the reference for relationship banking, recognised on its markets, close to clients, chosen for the quality and commitment of its teams.

Societe Generale has been playing a vital role in the economy for 150 years. With more than 145,000 employees, based in 66 countries, we accompany 31 million clients throughout the world on a daily basis. Societe Generale’s teams offer advice and services to individual, corporate and institutional customers in three core businesses:

• Retail banking in France with the Societe Generale branch network, Credit du Nord and Boursorama, offering a comprehensive range of omnichannel financial services on the leading edge of digital innovation;
• International retail banking, insurance and financial services to corporates with a presence in developing economies and leading specialised businesses;
• Corporate and investment banking, private banking, asset management and securities services, with recognised expertise, top international rankings and integrated solutions.

Societe Generale is included in the main socially responsible investment indices: DJSI (World and Europe), FTSE4Good (Global and Europe), Euronext Vigeo (Europe, Eurozone and France), ESI Excellence (Europe) from Ethibel and 4 of the STOXX ESG Leaders indices.

For more information, you can follow us on twitter @societegenerale or visit our website www.societegenerale.com.

About Rugby India
Rugby India, founded in 1998, is the sole governing body for the sport of Rugby in India. Recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sport, Govt. of India, Rugby India is a full member of World Rugby, Asia Rugby and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The body is responsible for the growth & development of the sport of Rugby across the country from the grassroots to the high performance level.

Rugby, besides being included in the School Games Federation of India (SGFI) for various age-groups (boys & girls), is also part of the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) and played by the Paramilitary & Police Forces. Rugby in India has a rich history and heritage and dates back to 1872. However, only over the last decade has the sport seen a major rise in following and Rugby India has been instrumental in garnering this interest across the country. There has been a significant growth and increase in participation numbers and currently, within India, over 120 Rugby Clubs are affiliated to our State and Districts Associations with competitive Rugby, for both Men & Women, being actively played across 24 States in India.

For More Information you can follow us on twitter @RugbyIndia or visit our website www.rugbyindia.in

SOURCE: Societe Generale