The African Leopards, the continent’s representative side, are just three years old but the team faces an uncertain future.
It is an unfortunate fact that the International Rugby Board has essentially disowned the team. For all its public declarations of wanting to develop rugby throughout the world, the IRB has refused to offer any kind of support to the African Leopards.
“Our plan for Africa is focussed on developing national teams to a point where they can compete in a Rugby World Cup,” said Mark Egan, an IRB representative. “The African Leopards does not form part of that plan, and the team was not our idea.”
In fact, the team was conceived by CAR President Abdelaziz Bougja and was initially funded by ABSA, the South African bank. After losing to a SA Students team at Ellis Park in 2005, the African Leopards toured England in 2006 and defeated a strong British Army team at Aldershot.
Last month, under the guidance of Paul Sigombe (Uganda) and Said Zniber (Morocco), the team played against the French under-20 team in Metz, and recorded an emphatic victory. The challenge now is financial.
The African Leopards have received invitations to play in South America, Japan and Australia, but the team is unable to function without funds.
ABSA have not renewed their sponsorship and, in the absence of IRB interest or support, a new commercial sponsor is actively being sought. The sponsorship package will be posted here next week, and interested parties are encouraged to contact info@carugby.com.
All going well, the African Leopards will thrive in 2008.