A fresh new start
A fresh new start - Year end is often synonymousof changes and good resolutions. In Africa, we use this time to organize General Assemblies, just like in Ivory Coast where a brand new board was recently elected.
For this occasion, Rugby Africa wished to know a little bit more about Elvis Marcel Tano. He used to be the union’s doctor and therefore is already a familiar figure inthe African rugby family,. Now President, he told us about his hopes and expectations for the future of the Ivory CoastRugby Union.
"I began to play rugby in Bouaké high school - a city in the center of Ivory Coast. Then I wanted to try soccer. Since 2011, I am the person in charge of the medical committee of the FIR and I’m the medical educator for World Rugby as well. I’m currently doing a trainer medical course with World Rugby and Rugby Africa.
I wantedto manage theUnionbecause ofthe manydifficulties met by theFIR(lack of motivation, lack of a real development program, lack of transparency in finance management etc..)
Today, one of our main priority is to foster rugby development in Ivory Coast. We will achieve this goal by creating rugby schools in the municipalities of Abidjan and inside the country, by establishing a U18 championship and then by introducing 7s women’s rugby.
To reachour ambitions we plan to lean on Rugby Africa, in particular through its vast Get Into Rugby development program and its numeroustrainings. We really want to gather all the people living outside of the country and those passionate about rugby inside Ivory Coast together around the oval ball,to move forward together with a common interest. We are going to modernize the administrative and financial management of the FIR and finally promote the research of sponsors and local partners to support our projects."
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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 across the continent. World Rugby highlighted Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia as three of the six emerging nations experiencing strong growth in rugby.
