Delegates from 15 member countries of African Rugby Union are convening in Kigali for the Rugby Growth Conference Africa 2024 during which they will discuss the status of the sport on the continent. Organized by World Rugby, the international governing body of rugby, the conference aims to empower Rugby unions across Africa, fostering the sustainable development and expansion of Rugby across the continent. The four-day conference opens on Wednesday, August 28, and will run until September 1. Countries represented at the event include Algeria, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Eswatini, Ghana, Morocco, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Zambia and host nation Rwanda. According to Rwanda Rugby Federation president Tharcisse Kamanda, the Conference will focus on strategic planning and execution, participation and development for African Rugby Union member countries. Kamanda said that hosting such an international conference event is a great deal for Rwanda. “It means a lot to our country, mostly through branding the nation. We expect to acquire support in our administration sector and registration through lifting our team starting with the young generation,” he said. Corolalle Van Den Berg, the partnerships manager for Africa in World Rugby, said discussions and resolutions of conference promise to contribute in sustaining the sport on the continent. “Our main goal is to strategically develop the rugby game in a sustainable manner, so what is important for us is to ensure that our unions have sustainable structure in pathway to bring the game to our community and to the youth especially in Africa” Van Den Berg told the press in a media briefing on Tuesday, August 27. Jurie Roux, the Secretary General of Rugby Africa said that he is looking forward to seeing the 15 African Rugby Unions lift up their ideas through the conference. “It is our first big general assembly that we are working on in terms of looking after people who have passion. After rugby, we will turn a lot of attention on the players and keep up their participation by developing them. We develop the unions that will enable them to grow on field but also off the field” Jurie mentioned. The conference highlights the commitment of developing the game to a global audience, while nurturing the continent’s potential and elevating Rugby across Africa.
