Herbert Mensah, sports executive and President of the Ghana Rugby Football Union, today announced his candidacy for President of Rugby Africa, the African regulatory body of rugby. Rugby Africa will pick a new president during its Annual General Meeting on March 18, 2023, in Cape Town.
The President will be elected for a four-year term beginning immediately after the executive committee announces the results on March 18, 2023. This will also be the first time in Rugby Africa’s history that elections will be held.
The Nigeria Rugby Football Federation nominated Mensah to run for President. Mensah, a current member of the Africa Rugby Executive Committee, is also a successful businessman with rich experience in the African business and sports sectors.
Mensah took over as President of the Ghana Rugby Football Union in 2014, where he dramatically expanded exposure to the sport while instilling tremendous passion in players and officials, as well as boosting young participation in rugby through several projects and events. He was a driving force behind the national team’s qualifying for the World Series after they won the West Africa tournament and then the African title.
Mensah’s mission is to establish Rugby Africa as a positive and powerful brand and to increase rugby’s visibility and accessibility among all Africans, especially young people. In terms of member associations’ organizational structures and the growth of the sport’s economy, he wants to see more continental events and more support for them.
Less than 30% of rugby players in Africa at the moment are female. The goal of Mensah’s strategic plan is to increase rugby’s popularity and audience while enhancing the profile and reputation of female players and officials and making sure that all organizational structures better reflect the diversity and inclusivity of the game. In terms of administration and sport, he also wants to establish more cohesiveness between English- and French-speaking nations.
“I am extremely humbled to be nominated to run for President, and I am overwhelmed by the well wishes from my colleagues and peers. I am immensely proud as an African, to be given a chance to represent Africa on a global platform. African rugby has historically not received the recognition it deserves, and I look forward to the opportunity to use this platform to create meaningful change, while promoting a better understanding of the game on the continent, and beyond, and to encourage greater support of rugby across the entire African continent. If elected, my tenure will be one marked with service to Africa Rugby, and the rugby and sports fraternity at large on the continent.”
Herbert Mensah
France will host the 2023 Rugby World Cup from September to October. Mensah aims to work with important international rugby bodies and other associations on this top-notch platform in order to promote African rugby and garner the sport’s much-needed support. For the Olympic Games Paris 2024, rugby will be one of the opening events, and Mensah expects to see more participation from African countries in the qualifying tournaments.
