Heineken Ireland have announced details of its inaugural sponsorship of the 2022 International Mixed Ability Rugby Tournament (IMART), which will bring an estimated 1,000 mixed ability rugby players from 28 teams and 14 countries to Cork from June 5th to 10th for a very special global sporting event celebrating inclusion and diversity.
The tournament will be hosted by Cork’s Sundays Well Rebels, and will feature Cork teams the Ballincollig Trailblazers and the West Cork Jesters. This sponsorship builds on Heineken’s decades long support for rugby through its brand sponsorship of Europe’s leading club rugby competition, the Heineken Champions Cup, and long-term partnerships with Ulster and Connacht Rugby, and Rugby Players Ireland. The purpose of this sponsorship is to shine a spotlight on the importance of inclusion and diversity in rugby and to show there are no barriers to the love of rugby.
Next month, Heineken Ireland employees will turn out at Musgrave Park to support IMART 2022, providing behind the scenes and pitch-side support to players and the 25,000 attendees at the week-long event. Heineken Ireland are also sponsors of the tournament’s Spirit Trophy, which recognizes the team that claims the most ‘Spirit Points’ awarded to those that best embody the values of the tournament. As part of the programme, Heineken Ireland employees received a volunteer briefing from IMART representatives, on the inclusivity mission of Mixed Ability Sports and heard from players on the empowering experience of being involved, to prepare them for their volunteering roles at the event.
IMART 2022 will be the biggest International Mixed Ability Rugby tournament to date, with 24 men’s teams competing for the overall Winners Trophy and the much-coveted Spirit Trophy. IMART 2022 will also play host to the first ever Women’s Mixed Ability Rugby tournament, which will see the Cork-based Ballincollig Trailblazers compete with three international women’s teams.
