Pioneer of Rugby League in Ghana

If you are in the Twitter Rugby League algorithm you will have seen the name Rachel Ankomah in recent weeks.

Rachel is the first female Rugby League coordinator in Ghana and is a true pioneer for the sport. So much so that she has just received the youth sports personality of the year at the Ghana youth awards. She was recognised as the Rugby League hero by the International Rugby League in 2020.

The sport was always high on Rachel’s agenda, with a background in football, hockey, basketball, triple jump, cricket, javelin and volleyball, but how did this young woman find herself in the midst of Rugby League, a sport that only took hold in Ghana in 2012 and women’s Rugby League was not even heard of.

With a lack of knowledge of the sport, she was approached by Jafaru Mustapha the then CEO of a local Rugby Union team to be the team manager, where she stayed for two years developing her knowledge.

Mustapha approached Rachel again with a new proposition of becoming the team manager of Ghana Skolars RLC. At this point, she was unaware that there were even two codes of Rugby so the research and learning began again, but this time Ankomah was hooked!

“I don’t know if it was because of the mode of play or the players, but since then I havent been able to stay away from the sport”

It hasn’t always been easy for Rachel being a female manager in Ghana in general, never mind in a male-dominated sport.

“In our Ghanaian culture or society, Men are predominantly the ones in charge, so for a lady to be in charge is very tough. It was difficult getting the players to follow certain instructions from me at first but eventually, we found a way to work together”

She continues to highlight obstacles and challenges she has faced along the way, she has been trying to grow the game.

“ A number of people felt intimidated by my work, and some of my projects saw little support with even some being sabotaged.”

Funding the sport and also changing peoples misconceptions of Rugby League has also been a struggle for the developing sport.

“A Major challenge was also funding, most of us use the funds we get from our daily jobs or organise activities, buy equipment. Another challenge was the misconception people have about the sport, with many seeing Rugby League as a dangerous game”

2020 saw the first-ever Ghana women’s league created with a total of five teams. The campaign “Pretty girls play Rugby League” was launched to highlight to women and young girls that Rugby League is for everyone.

There is a lot of work still to be done to expand the men’s and women’s Rugby League in Ghana , but Rachel is not letting obstacles she may face stand in her way, she is developing campaigns to create more awareness of the sport, educational learning series explaining the terms in Rugby.

She plans to take her love of the game into schools to educate the children on the game and raise its appeal to bring on the next generation of Ghanaian Rugby League players.

“I believe in the next five years, Ghana will be amongst the top three African countries in Rugby League and IT will be played in every corner of the country. It’s also my hope that Rugby League becomes the top sport in the country.”

With any developing sport, Rugby League in Ghana needs help and support with kits, training equipment, balls etc. The technical support to develop coaches, referees, teaching materials and not forgetting financial support with sponsorship, If you can help contact @RachelAnkomahRL on Twitter

Just like one of her Rugby heroes Jodie Cunningham she continues to grow the sport and be a true ambassador for women in rugby league, watch this space.