United Nations reports that seven out of ten people are tuning in to women’s sports.
CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Today marks day two of the inaugural Impact Beyond 2025 Summit, organized by World Rugby (www.worldrugby.com), the international governing body of rugby. Delegates of Rugby Africa, (https://www.rugbyafrique.com), the governing body of rugby across Africa, were introduced to various creative strategies and financial resources to support women’s rugby across Africa.
United Nations (https://www.un.org/en/) reports that seven out of ten people are tuning in to women’s sports. This surge in viewership presents a vital opportunity for rugby organizations to utilize strategic tools and resources to advance women’s rugby across all levels. The Impact Beyond 2025 Summit provided key decision-makers from Rugby Africa—including board members, CEOs, Directors of Rugby, development staff, marketing and communication professionals, and students from Rugby Africa’s Sports Management Training Program—to engage in discussions about various funding resources, strategies for collaboration with commercial partners and creative initiatives to promote women’s rugby in their respective countries.
As the 2025 Rugby Women’s World Cup in England approaches, the summit serves not only as an excellent platform to unite and inspire enthusiasm for international women’s competitions but also as a vital resource for advancing women’s rugby across all levels.
Delegates participating in the Summit represent six unions across Africa such as South Africa, Kenya, Madagascar, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Tunisia. Each union has nominated two female delegates as Impact Champions, who will receive mentorships and coaching, along with an exclusive opportunity to attend the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup in England.
The Impact Beyond 2025 summit is a key component of World Rugby’s global impact plan to create a platform for inclusivity, positioning Africa as the first host in six regional summits. In partnership with UK Sport (https://www.uksport.gov.uk), the UK’s trusted high-performance experts, and supported by Rugby Africa, the summit began on Thursday, October 3, and will conclude on Saturday, October 5 at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport, South Africa.
“Day two of the Impact Beyond 2025 Summit is all about unlocking funding for the women’s game. While the economic landscape remains challenging everywhere, increased participation of women and girls in rugby represents a unique opportunity to reach out to new partners and a wider audience. For example, social impact programs are not only a morally good thing to invest in, they are also a powerful vehicle to attract significant funding and increase the reach of our sport. It is vitally important to understand that corporate partners are looking for a strong and evidenced return on investment, but there are many innovative opportunities for women’s rugby to achieve just that. Let’s build our own narrative and use major women’s sport events such as RWC 2025 as a catalyst to attract more partnerships and increase visibility for women in and across rugby,” stated World Rugby Regional Partnerships Manager of Africa, Coralie Van Den Berg
“Today we held sessions focused on helping our Unions to strengthen their understanding of accessing Sport for Development funding and building new commercial partnerships. We were delighted to have our social impact partner Child Fund here to share their expertise, and to hear our Unions’ ideas on how they can build on these sessions in the future,” stated by Woman’s Global Impact Manager, Melissa Wright.
Media contact:
Nicole Vervelde
Communications Advisor
nicole.vervelde@rugbyafrique.com
About Rugby Africa:
Rugby Africa (www.RugbyAfrique.com) is the governing body of rugby in Africa and one of the regional associations under World Rugby. It unites all African countries that play rugby union, rugby sevens, and women’s rugby. Rugby Africa organizes various competitions, including the qualifying tournaments for the Rugby World Cup and the Africa Sevens, a qualifying competition for the Olympic Games. With 39 member unions, Rugby Africa is dedicated to promoting and developing rugby globally. World Rugby highlighted Ghana, Nigeria, and Zambia as three of the six emerging nations experiencing strong growth in rugby.
