12 hrs

New era of grassroots development to boost game in African nations

International Rugby League has launched a new era of comprehensive grassroots development with the completion of a series of courses for coaches and match officials in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, facilitating the ongoing growth and full member ambitions of the African nations.

Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria each hosted Level 2 Coach and L2 Match Official courses, followed by Level 1 courses delivered by local L1 educator candidates. Coach tutor Martin Crick and match officials tutor Phil Smith spent five days in each of the three countries overseeing the process.

The following number of coaches and match officials were certified:
• Ghana - 16 x L1 and 10 x L2 certified coaches;  13 x L1 and 4 x L2 certified match officials
• Nigeria – 13 x L1 and 5 x L2 certified coaches; 6 x L1 and 4 x L2 certified match officials
• Kenya – 9 x L1 and 9 x L2 certified coaches;  8 x L1 and 6 x L2 certified match officials

The increased pool of qualified coaches and match officials will support rising playing numbers and standards in the two West African and one East African countries.

Image - 2025-01-30T203227Photo: IRL coach and match official tutors spent five days in each of Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria.  
They will all become accredited following the successful completion of professional development tasks over the next few months. Several level 2 practitioners were also assessed as L1 educators in their chosen field.

The L1 educator candidates must complete multiple development tasks, following which they will be licensed to independently run Level 1 courses and qualify Level 1 coaches and match officials - enabling a pipeline of qualified coaches and match officials in the Middle East & Africa countries.

The coaching strand also featured the qualification of four MEA L1 Coach Tutors - one from Lebanon, one from Ghana and two from South Africa - who are now qualified to train and accredit L1 Coach Educators, giving the region more internal capacity.

IRL Secretary-General Danny Kazandjian said: “IRL would like to thank Rugby League Federation Ghana, the Nigerian Rugby League Association and the Kenyan Rugby League Federation for their excellent planning and support for what was a historic two weeks. 

“Ensuring sustainable game development is a key part of IRL’s mission to grow the sport globally and this was the first major intervention that IRL has made in this fundamental area. It is essential that the sport’s on-field authenticity is protected and game standards improve, and the best way of doing that is through comprehensive education, training and mentoring. 

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Photo: Ghana now has an additional 16 x L1 and 10 x L2 certified coaches and 13 x L1 and 4 x L2 certified match officials.
“This mission was in many ways pioneering, and now the international federation expects to begin the implementation of a major global development project that will focus on the cultivation of talented local leaders and a higher quality of rugby league on the pitch.”