Rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

is a minor but growing sport.

Governing body

The national union is a member of the

Confederation of African Rugby Rugby Africa is the administrative body for rugby union within the continent of Africa under the authority of World Rugby, which is the world governing body of rugby union. , Rugby Africa has 37 member nations and runs several rugby tournaments f ...

, but not of

World Rugby World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competit ...

History

Rugby in the

suffers from a number of hindrances, such as lack of good transport networks, general infrastructure, political instability and war, and also the extreme poverty of the country, which means it is difficult for it to maintain a proper national league structure. The DRC is a particularly large country, at 2,344,858 km2 (the 12th largest in the world), but without the necessary economy to maintain it. The sport is centred on the national capital,

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

. Like many African countries, the historical connection with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

is a mixed blessing. For a number of years, Congolese rugby players would leave to play in France, which deprived the sport of any real competition in the DRC.

External links

CAR

References

Sport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo {{Rugbyunion-stub

Governing body

History

See also

External links

References