Nigeria Rugby Football Federation has received a boost in its drive to develop the sport in the country.
The NRFF has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with South African Company in the area of private funding and technical expertise for the sport.
According to Thabo Kubu, who is chairman of Africa Sports Connect, an international sports company Nigeria is blessed with talents and more should be done to bring in corporate sponsorship and standard facilities to grow the game in Nigeria.
“One of the biggest challenges to Rugby in Nigeria is funding, the government has contributed a lot but the private sector must help in terms of working with civil society and the federation to see to the sustenance of the game.
” The MoUs on the table are to help promote, develop and explore areas of funding for the sport.
“We are known to bring technical expertise from South Africa and you would agree with me that in South Africa, the private sector is at the helm of the development of rugby,” he said.
NRFF president Ademola Are, added that the partnership was part of efforts to give rugby a new face in Nigeria, in line with international best practices.
“We are looking at how we can improve our grassroots programme, rugby series, the rugby league, tertiary institution games and that is why we are partnering with the South Africans.
“You know South Africans are one of the best when it comes to Rugby, so we will be having a series of robust meetings,” he said.
Nigeria rugby players during a tournament