By Stephen Benjamin
The President of the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation (NRFF), Ademola Aré, has charged coaches, referees and medical officers to return to their communities and apply the knowledge acquired from a three-day World Rugby training programme.
Aré gave the charge on Saturday at the end of the intensive coaching, refereeing and medical course held in Abuja.
He urged the participants to become catalysts for the development of rugby in their respective states, stressing that the growth of the sport depended largely on their commitment and expertise.
“Go back and impact your communities because rugby needs you. Without you, rugby cannot make headway,” Aré said.
He also urged the participants to work with their respective state associations, sports councils and ministries of sports to grow the game and secure greater recognition for rugby.
The NRFF president called for stronger collaboration among stakeholders, saying a coordinated approach would help create a more sustainable structure for the development of the sport.
According to him, about 80 participants registered for the three-day seminar and workshop, with the federation expecting the knowledge gained to impact rugby development across the country.
World Rugby East and Southern Africa Game Growth Manager, Robert Bwari, expressed satisfaction with the progress recorded by rugby in Nigeria, particularly in coaching, refereeing and medical development.
“I am happy with the level Nigeria has attained in the last few years. Nigeria now has World Rugby educators who can train coaches and referees locally,” Bwari said.
He said the development meant World Rugby would not always need to send educators to Nigeria, but could instead provide supervision, as done during the latest programme.
Bwari also noted the increasing number of coaches and referees joining the sport as an encouraging development.
The federation also announced the appointment of six ambassadors by the NRFF president to represent the federation across the six geopolitical zones.
One of the newly appointed ambassadors, Lazarus Nuhu, commended the federation for its commitment to rugby development and thanked the leadership for the confidence reposed in him.
The federation also announced the appointment of Angulu Suleiman as its new Technical Director.
Suleiman commended the NRFF for the confidence reposed in him and urged participants to take the next step in developing the sport.
He said the federation had set the benchmark through the training programme, adding that it was now the responsibility of coaches, referees and medical officers to build on it and take rugby to the next level.
Also speaking, NRFF board member and World Rugby-certified instructor, Wuraola Hussain, said the federation’s sustained investment in technical development would significantly contribute to the growth of rugby.
Hussain said participants were expected to take the knowledge acquired during the course back to their respective states and communities and use it to develop the next generation of rugby coaches, referees and players.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Joseph Edeh