The Nigeria Rugby Football Federation (NRFF) has announced the appointment of its former National Team captain; Azeez Ladipo as General Manager.
According to the federation, Ladipo will be responsible for Nigeria Rugby’s strategic plan and implementation of policy decisions. He will also work with the Technical Department for the development of schools, men’s and women’s game, training and education, increasing participation of teams in the league and contribute to the general high-performance strategy of rugby players across the country.
Ladipo is a thorough bred Nigeria rugby player who grew up playing Rugby at U14 level in Lagos Rugby Club under the tutelage of Sir Martin Crawford, Yinka Marinho and Tunde Akerele amongst others. he later rose through the ranks and made his national team debut as a teenager during the 2005 Rugby World Cup qualifiers against Cameroun in Lagos and against Senegal in Dakar. He joined Racing Rugby Club in 2005 and later joined Cowrie Rugby Club in 2009 before a brief stint with Chicago Blaze Rugby Club in the USA.
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He is the longest serving National team 7s & 15s captain and one of the most decorated Nigerian Rugby player of all time having won the Super 16 Championship for Nigeria in 2006 where he kicked in 12 points in the final helping Nigeria defeat a spirited host team Togo 12 – 11. Other accolades includes; Dubai Sevens plate winner, 8 Lagos League Championship, 1 National League championship, 6 Independence sevens winner, National Sports festival multiple gold medalist amongst others.
Speaking on his appointment, “I am very excited to take up this position. I must thank the NRFF Board members led by Dr Ademola Are for this role. Everyone around me knows I am deeply passionate about Nigeria and sports development is a proven solution to some of the challenges we are facing in the country presently. this is a unique time for us to harness our full potential in Rugby.”
Also speaking on the appointment, NRFF president, Dr Ademola Are reiterated his commitment to ensuring the best structure is put in place for Nigeria rugby to thrive.
He noted that more modalities would be put in place to put smiles on the faces of rugby players in the country, saying that grassroots development of the game must be achieved.
