Homeboyz pull out of the Kenya Cup rugby league
Homeboyz rugby club has withdrawn from the incoming Kenya Cup league barely a day after the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) released the Cup’s season schedule set to kick off next month and to run alongside Enterprise Cup.
Through a letter addressed to KRU which was signed by the club’s chairman Mike Rabar, the club will instead take an active role in the growth of the game at the developmental stage.
However, Rabar indicated that after evaluation and review of the next season will aim at a possible return of the club to participate at the premiership level.
“The Homeboyz Rugby Club has revised its strategy and chosen to focus predominantly on grassroots rugby. We no longer wish to partake in the premiership Kenya Cup season of 2022/2023.
Developmental stage
“The Board believes that we could make more impact in the game of rugby by investing in its developmental stage.
“We shall hereby extend our focus to supporting our Rugby Academy and the growth of the game at the grassroots 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 in the management and growth of the sport,” read part of the statement by the club.
The Deejayz as popularly known were expected to renew their Kenya Cup rivalry with Mwamba in their opener fixture but their withdrawal will lead to the production of a new fixture pitting 11 teams that will tag along their second teams in the forthcoming Enterprise Cup league that runs concurrently with the top tier league.
KRU had confirmed November 26 as the kick-off date for the 2022/23 Kenya Cup league. According to KRU this season’s league would have featured 12 teams, including promoted sides Catholic Monks and Mean Machine, and will be played in a one-off, round-robin format before Homeboyz withdrew from the league to reduce the number to 11 teams.
Once the round-robin format is done the top four sides at the close of the league phase qualify for the semifinal playoffs set for Saturday 4 March 2023.
This season's final will be played on Saturday 11 March 2023.
