About Us

A BRIEF HISTORY OF NIGERIA RUGBY
Rugby Union was first introduced into Nigeria by the British Empire. For a number of years the game was dominated by white settlers and expatriates, and to an extent, a number of expatriate oil workers still play here. A number of Nigerian people have immigrated to the UK, and there is a London Nigerian Rugby Club. Rugby union in Nigeria is a minor but growing sport. We are currently ranked 70th in the world by World Rugby our previous ranking was 69th in the world prior to the 2022 Africa Cup. A number of notable England National Team and Premier League players were born or raised in Nigeria. Nigeria Rugby Football Federation was founded in 1998 and became a full member of World Rugby in 2001. We made an immediate impact on the Rugby 15s landscape with resounding performances in Africa and as such qualified for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games 7s in 2014 as well as a top 8 finish in Africa at the 2020 Olympic Qualifiers The Nigeria Rugby Football Federation is an affiliate to the Nigeria Olympic Committee and operates under the oversight of Rugby Africa and World Rugby. Headquartered in Abuja, the NRFF is the custodian of Rugby in Nigeria and administers Rugby Nationwide. The NRFF is responsible for the development of programs to define Rugby pathways from “grass root” level to elite/ high performance level. The Nigeria national rugby union teams (Black Stallions) represent Nigeria in men's international rugby union. Nigeria has thus far not qualified for a Rugby World Cup, but has competed in qualifying tournaments. Nigeria played their first international against Zimbabwe on 1 August 1987 at the All African Games in Nairobi, losing by 111-12 in Nairobi. Our greatest success has been in the 2013 Africa Cup, where we beat Mauritius 63-3 in group 1C. There are 26 Rugby Clubs in Nigeria.

NIGERIA NATIONAL RUGBY TEAMS
Nigeria 15-A-Side or 15s The Nigeria national rugby union team (Black Stallions) represent Nigeria in men's international rugby union competitions. Nigeria have thus far not qualified for a Rugby World Cup, but have competed in qualifying tournaments. Nigeria played their first international against Zimbabwe on 1 August 1987 at the All African Games in Nairobi, losing by 111-12 in Nairobi. Our greatest success has been in the 2013 Africa Cup, where we beat Mauritius 63-3 in group 1C. Nigeria tried to qualify for the first time for the 2007 Rugby World Cup, but lost to Senegal (6-48) and Cameroon (8-18), and were eliminated. They also missed the presence at the 2011 Rugby World Cup, after losing to Cameroon (6-26), in the pre-qualifier in Yaounde.

The Mission
The mission is to position world standard rugby in Nigeria. Then to socially unite, unify and glorify the sport of rugby by 1. developing the sport, 2. creating the fanbase, 3.creating the celebrity players 4. develop a culture of support for team and legacy. 5.Drive the excitement and intensity for rugby. Making it socially accepted, create the aspirational and create prestige around the sport. Develop the team for the world stage

GRASSROOTS SCHOOLS & COMMUNITY PROGRAM (GET INTO RUGBY)
Nigeria Rugby is a club side organization. We will work to develop growth of the community game through states and clubs sides as this will add diversity to the youth program and strengthen the rugby community as a whole. Club sides could use their infrastructure support to help roll out youth programs. For example, Racing Rugby Club has good infrastructure at the British International School, Lekki that was very helpful to us in the past. Rugby teaches discipline, confidence, communication and teamwork. It is ubiquitously identified as assisting with academic success in the classroom HOW WILL THE GRASSROOTS PROGRAM WORK? NRFF to adopt Get Into Rugby Program. The Get Into Rugby program is part of World Rugby strategy to grow the Game globally in partnership with Unions/Federations. The program is a central part of the World Rugby initiative to grow Rugby. The aim of the program is to encourage players of all ages to Try, Play and Stay in Rugby. Get Into Rugby will promote the values of the Game and ensure children are encouraged to try Rugby in a safe and progressive environment. With the help of sponsors, certified coaches and Club players are to be sent to schools to coach the next generation of players. The schools will compete in regional and national tournaments. Coaches will receive monthly stipends and branded rugby equipment will be needed from sponsors. Winners of the National Schools Rugby Tournament get to travel to the UK to play in the Roselyn Park Youth Tournament or South Africa annually. The NRFF should also encourage Clubs to adopt schools within their territories (A National Implementation plan is available upon request)
The Team

