NRFF Restates Commitment To Rugby Dev In Schools

The Nigeria Rugby
Football Federation (NRFF) has restated its commitment to implementing the 10-year plan of taking the sport to many schools in the country.
The NRFF Vice-President/Technical Director, Olatunji Fasimoye, told newsmen in Lagos while reacting to South Africa and Kenya’s Olympic qualification, that the body had not jettisoned the plan.
The rugby event at Rio Olympics is scheduled for August 6 to August 11 at the Deodoro Park and only South Africa and Kenya will represent the continent.
Fasimoye added that both countries had invested a lot in school sports, especially in rugby, noting that it was now working to their advantage.
“The likes of South Africa, Namibia and Kenya have invested a lot in Rugby over the years, particularly in schools rugby.
“When we assumed office, we had a 10-year plan to take the game to a large number of schools and then tertiary institutions.
“We have been able to start our Get-Into-Rugby programme which started with 15 schools in Lagos and 10 schools outside Lagos,’’ he said.
Fasimoye also said that if NRFF could get sponsorship from corporate bodies and the government, Nigeria would be at par with the top Rugby playing countries.
“Already, there is a programme called “iTry’’ which has been on for about five years, so, we are making a little progress with that.
“If we can get more funding from corporate bodies and the government, we can then try to match up with these countries in 10-15 years.
“I have always said that Nigerians are natural for Rugby and that is why a Nigerian, Maro Itoje, is the present European Player of the Year though he plays for England.
“Many other Nigerians are currently playing for other countries for obvious reasons and they are fantastic. All we need to do is to invest more and our sports will excel,’’ he said.