Burkina Faso granted World Rugby membership

Burkina Faso gain World Rugby membership

JOHANNESBURG, November 19 (ANA) – Burkina Faso has been granted full member status by World Rugby in an announcement made on Wednesday.

The West African nation was granted the new status alongside Iran and Laos.

Burkina Faso is an up-and-coming nation led by union president Rolande Boro, who is also a Rugby Africa Executive Committee Member and World Rugby Council member. Boro is a participant on World Rugby’s Women’s Executive Leadership Scholarships programme and an influential member of Rugby Africa’s Women’s Advisory Committee.

Burkina Faso have performed well over the past years in West Africa regional competitions as well as at the Africa Youth Games. The Federation Burkinabe de Rugby has been an associate member of World Rugby since 2018 and a full member of Rugby Africa.

World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said: “World Rugby is delighted to welcome Burkina Faso, Iran and Laos as new full members and Nepal and Panama as associate members as we continue our commitment to the sustainable global growth of the sport combined with strong governance.

“We are dedicated to increasing the breadth and diversity of the global game and the progress being made in countries such as these is a great tribute to the many talented coaches, administrators and volunteers involved in growing the sport across the emerging nations.

“Increasing the interest, participation and executive positions for women in rugby is a key objective for World Rugby so it is particularly pleasing to see the leading roles being played by women in both the Burkina Faso and Iran unions. As members of the World Rugby family we will work with these unions to provide them with continuous support and a solid framework to accelerate the growth of the sport in their countries.”

In addition to the new members, it was confirmed that Cameroon has been reinstated as a member. – African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Michael Sherman