Bosnia and Herzegovina had the distinction of being the first International Rugby Board (IRB) member to benefit from assistance for a coaching programme held in the northwestern town of Bihać.

Other countries, including Denmark and possibly Romania, are understood to be in the process of trying to secure Olympic Solidarity support for rugby sevens-related initiatives.

Bihać, near the border with Croatia, suffered greatly in the Balkan conflict of the 1990s, with inhabitants subjected to a protracted siege.

Bernard Lapasset, IRB chairman, said it was "fantastic that in the first year of the new 2013-2016 Olympic Solidarity quadrennial, IRB member unions are further engaging with, and strengthening, the relationships with their National Olympic Committees (NOCs), who have also begun to apply for OS support on behalf of the national rugby federations.

"This historic initiative reflects the truly positive impact that Olympic Games inclusion has had on the development and growth of rugby worldwide."

Olympic Solidarity manages the share of International Olympic Committee (IOC) broadcasting income belonging to the NOCs and redistributes these funds via a variety of programmes.

Rugby sevens' arrival on the scene is well timed, owing to the surge in IOC broadcasting revenues in 2009-2012, which is reflected, in turn, in funds at Olympic Solidarity's disposal in the present quadrennium.

Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, chairman of the Olympic Solidarity Commission, told IOC members in Buenos Aires that the development and assistance budget approved by the Olympic Solidarity Commission for the 2013-2016 quadrennial plan totalled $438 million (£279 million/€330 million).

This represents an increase of around 40 per cent from the previous quadrennial plan.

Rugby sevens will take its place on the Olympic sports programme amid a blaze of global publicity at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.

It will be the first time that a version of the sport will have featured at the Olympics since the Paris Games of 1924.

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