Rugby: Shame as Homeboyz withdraw from the 2023 Kenya Cup season
Rugby
By
Washington Onyango
| Oct 20, 2022
Homeboyz Rugby Club on Wednesday shocked the local rugby fraternity after announcing their withdrawal from the 2022-2023 Kenya Cup season set to kick off next month.
The Deejay's announcement comes barely a day after the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) confirmed the kick-off date of the new Kenya Cup season and released the fixtures for week one action.
The 2018 Enterprise Cup champions were set to kick start their campaign against Mwamba on the first match day according to the fixtures released.
Through a letter dated October 18, Homeboyz chairman Mike Rabar said their decision to step aside was informed by their belief that they can be more impactful to the game at the developmental stage as opposed to take part in the Premiership.
Rabar said they will channel their resources to their academy where they believe much of the support is needed, and they would reevaluate their return to the competition next season.
"The Homeboyz Rugby Club Board has revised its strategy and chosen to focus predominantly on Grass Root Rugby. We no longer wish to partake in the premiership Kenya Cup season, 2022-2023."
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"The Board believes that we could make more impact in the game of Rugby by investing at its developmental stage. We shall hereby extend our focus to supporting our Rugby Academy and growth of the game at the Grass-Root level, where we believe support is much needed."
"We shall review our return to premiership rugby next season, We however wish the Union all the best well in the management and growth of the sport," the statement read.
Homeboyz have featured in Kenya Cup since 2011/2012 season.
Homeboyz was officially founded in 2009. This was a result of the perceived need in the market to accommodate the younger players who felt that they were not being given enough opportunities to play competitive rugby.
As a start-up team in 2009, Homeboyz RFC was initially placed in the lower-tier Eric Shirley Shield. After winning the Eric Shirley Shield two seasons in a row, they earned their promotion to Kenya Cup.