The Botswana Rugby Union (BRU) is backing Ghanaian Herbert Mensah for the Rugby Africa presidency. Rugby Africa will elect a new president at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held in Cape Town, South Africa (SA) tomorrow. Mensah, who is the Ghana Rugby Federation’s (GRF) president, announced his interest to contest for the presidency on Tuesday. Mensah was nominated by the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation to run for president.

He has been president of the GRF since 2014 and is already a member of the Rugby Africa executive committee, where he heads the finance committee. His rival, Andrew Owor of Uganda, is a former rugby player and coach. The current president, Tunisian Khaled Babbou, elected in 2019, is not seeking re-election.

This will be the first time in the history of Rugby Africa that elections will be contested. BRU president, Sean Irish told Mmegi Sport that they will vote for Mensah because they believe in his vision.

“He has a vision that suits BRU and he is an accomplished administrator. He is also a successful businessman both in Europe and Africa. As small rugby unions, we expect a lot from him. Of course, that does not mean big unions will be cast aside,” he said.

Irish said they expect Mensah to assist in raising funds and to play more competitions. He said as BRU, they want to position themselves to benefit. Irish has shown interest in joining the Rugby

Africa board as an additional member. According to a statement that Mensah released on Tuesday, his vision is to build a positive and strong brand for Rugby Africa and to make rugby more accessible and visible to all Africans, in particular the youth.

He would like to see an increase in continental competitions and greater support of member associations in terms of how they are structured and in the economic development of the sport.

He wants to change the current situation where less than 30% of rugby players in Africa are women. Mensah’s strategic plan is to broaden the reach and appeal of rugby, raising the profile and image of women rugby players and officials, while ensuring that all structures further reflect the diversity and inclusion of the sport.

Mensah wants to ensure greater cohesion between English and French-speaking countries, both in terms of sport and governance. Addressing the media through a virtual conference this week, Mensah said he was extremely humbled to be nominated to run for president.

“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,” he said.

Mensah said he is looking forward to opportunities to use the platform to create meaningful change while promoting a better understanding of the game on the continent and beyond.

“I want 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,” Mensah said.