The passion for rugby is alive and well, from Cape Town to Cairo. The game is being developed too in countries such as Uganda, the Ivory Coast, Ghana and Madagascar. But what else needs to be done?
Rugby Africa president Herbert Mensah is leading what he terms a “change in mindset” that he hopes will boost the development mandate of the organization and grow the game on the continent outside of powerhouse South Africa.
The Springboks are a global brand and household name for fans around the world, but while Namibia have been regular qualifiers for the Rugby World Cup and Kenya have a competitive team on the Sevens circuit, the rest of the continent lags well behind.
It will be no surprise that this largely comes down to funding, but Mensah is emphatic that the passion for the game is alive and well from Cape Town to Cairo.
Rugby Africa is an administrative body under World Rugby that is tasked with growing the game on the continent but does so on a shoestring budget.
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“A country like England, for example, receives over 150 million pounds a year to develop the game and to prepare their national teams to be able to compete at the highest levels,” Mensah told FORBES AFRICA. “Africa, minus South Africa, receives two-point-something million dollars a year.
“And you have got to run multiple competitions. You have got to develop the game. That is the reason why Rugby Africa hasn’t got age grade competitions.
“We are trying to develop greater partnerships and associations with governments, persuading them that even though rugby is not a political tool (on the continent) as football is, the values of rugby mean building a better society.
“Rugby provides something that other sports do not. Some countries, like Morocco, have responded well. I stand to be corrected, but over 1% of GDP in Morocco is being allocated for sports, including at grassroots level. Uganda, Ivory Coast, Ghana have invested massively in the development of the game.”
Mensah points to Madagascar as an example of the popularity of rugby in so-called non-traditional playing nations.
“You can go and watch a domestic match in Madagascar and have 30,000 people in the stadium. What would happen if you are now able to invest a little bit more in Madagascar and in its rugby infrastructure?
“There are countries in Africa that play a test match once every two years. You can begin to immediately see that disparity, but there is great enthusiasm.”
Mensah, who has been in his role for the last two years, says the status quo cannot remain, and it starts with his own organization.
“We need to be creative. Think out of the box. We need to get governments more involved. We need to work with the Olympic solidarity fund to make more money available.
“We are not a third world country out there saying, ‘give me, give me, you owe me’. Because the commercial reality is, unless you have a contract, nobody owes you anything.
“So, get out there and show that you’ve got something to give. Sometimes you need to plant the seed, the right seed, in order to sow and reap the right crop, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
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