Richard Akpokavie, President of the Ghana Olympic Committee, recognized the Ghana Rugby Football Union as the “Team Sports” (currently ranked #1) best club member based on performance over the years with little or no funding from the Government or Corporate Sponsors.
While addressing the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Ghana Rugby Union held on 7th April 2023 at the Labadi Beach Hotel, Mr. Akpokavie explained how challenging it is financially to manage all aspects of Team Sports (Rugby – including several formats e.g., 7s) without some structured basis of funding, indicating that continued success without consistent financial support is a remarkable achievement. Furthermore, Mr. Akpokavie noted how Rugby (7s in particular) requires considerable investment to provide sufficient numbers of quality Players and quality Technical Staff; made even more impressive when considering that Ghana Rugby continues to achieve outstanding results across Africa collectively and individually.
The AGM was historic for the Ghana Rugby Union in that it approved (a) audited (independent) accounts for the first time; (b) the adoption of a new Constitution; and (c) an updated Code of Ethics/Conduct all designed to positively strengthen the governance of every aspect of the Ghana Rugby Union’s National and Regional structure and all affiliated Clubs.
In addition, Richard Akpokavie commended the leaders of the Ghana Rugby Union while also recognizing the contributions of the current President of the Ghana Rugby Union to the Board of the Ghana Olympic Committee, as well as recognizing the contribution of the former President of the GRFU, Herbert Mensah (currently the President of Rugby Africa) for his personal financial support towards the growth of Rugby in Ghana.
Finally, Mr. Akpokavie congratulated Ghana Rugby on the organization’s commitment towards Gender Equity and Participation in Rugby.
