Today (26 January) sees the start of a President’s 9s tournament in Ghana involving four clubs, with the champions crowned in December. In a bid to welcome newcomers into the sport, the 9s will feature on the last Sunday of each month at Legon Rugby Field and involve existing sides; Bulls, Pirates, Panthers and Skolars.

The matches will also feature a revolutionary recycling initiative, “Keep Rugby League Clean” which will look at how to properly dispose of plastic waste by asking fans, players and individuals to come with their plastic as entry tickets in exchange for an instant prize. It will then be collected and bagged for Aqua Africa, a recycling company.

Emmanuel Akuklu, assistant manager of Rugby League Federation Ghana noted: “The competition will highlight the campaign against poor and improper sanitation in Ghana. We will use this year's games to add our voices. We need to keep our playing fields clean.”

The RLFG was revived earlier this year under the leadership of president Nana Prempeh which saw Ghana’s men’s national team, the Leopards, take third place in the MEA Championship with a play-off victory over Cameroon.

In addition, the University of Ghana held an inter-hall rugby league competition. Now, a university 9s involving UG, University of Cape Coast, Regional Maritime, Lancaster University and the University of Professional Studies will also begin in April 2020, with additional plans to also take rugby league into schools.

Image - Ghana 9s from left to right William Pearce-Biney (Skolars), Enock. Niikoi (Bulls), Bless Mensah (Pirates), Samuel Adu Sarpong (Panthers)