World Rugby Partnering With Unions And Regions To Grow The Sport

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World Rugby Partnering With Unions And Regions To Grow The Sport

Participation is one of the three core pillars of World Rugby’s strategic plan launched in April; Plan is focused on empowering the 128 member unions and six regions by increasing their capacity and capability; Ambition to increase the total global playing population to over 10 million by 2025.

In line with strategic commitment to grow the women’s game, this plan aims to increase active female players by a further 10 per cent; Successful Get into Rugby and Impact Beyond programmes to be expanded.

World Rugby has today published a modern, ambitious and player welfare driven participation plan which is focused on empowering it’s 128 member unions and six regions by increasing their capacity and capability to deliver participation growth for all forms of the sport around the globe.

Participation, alongside competition and engagement, is one of the three core pillars of World Rugby’s strategic plan – ‘A Global Sport for All – True to its Values’ – which was launched in April with a key aim to advance the growth of the sport through to 2025.

View World Rugby participation plan HERE

Rugby is a global growth sport, seeing strong upward trends in participation and gender equality over the last decade with more women and girls being encouraged into the game than ever before.

While the effects of the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic continue to impact all sports, World Rugby’s participation plan aims to implement the foundations of long term, sustainable growth. This will be achieved by supporting unions to increase their capability to promote participation through reaching new recruits but also through the retention of existing players.

With uniting the rugby family at heart, the plan sets out how the sport will attract new participants and welcome back players following the global pandemic through a commitment to make it as safe, accessible, attractive and enjoyable as possible for all.

World Rugby is investing £570 million in the development of the sport between 2020-2023, including support for unions and regions for the development of the game. This will be further enhanced through the provision of a greater range of services to better enable them to grow the game around the world.

The participation plan recognises the diversity that exists across the globe and that unions are at different stages of development, with the need to adopt a differentiated approach that sees resources concentrated on supporting player retention in established nations, and on reaching new players in emerging nations.

The successful Get into Rugby programme will continue to be a core element of World Rugby’s participation plan and has been updated and improved to promote greater retention in the game.

The Get Into Rugby programme enables unions and regions to increase the number of new players, coaches and referees entering the game while also promoting the unique values of the game and aims to allow boys and girls to enjoy playing for the first time in a safe, enjoyable and progressive environment, in line with the principles of World Rugby’s Charter for Rugby.

The World Rugby Impact Beyond Programme uses World Rugby tournaments as a catalyst for the growth of the game. Impact Beyond Programmes are run alongside all major World Rugby events, focusing on development, participation, coaching, volunteering and business programmes to further support the growth of the game.

The Rugby World Cup 2019 Impact Beyond programme inspired 2.25 million new rugby participants in Asia, including 1.18 million in Japan alone. The new participation plan aims to grow the Impact Beyond programme into a key sport for development programme aimed at using rugby and its values as a basis to affect social change and improve the lives of people around the world.

Player welfare is at the heart of World Rugby’s strategic plan and the recently launched mission to cement rugby as the most progressive sport on player welfare underpins the participation plan. In line with the core ‘welfare focused law amendments’ pillar of the welfare strategy, the participation plan is currently driving feasibility of adapted laws for the community game via a Community Laws Framework.

In addition, work has also begun reviewing of the game’s non-contact rugby variants, to offer a wider set of options for unions to adopt to attract new participants and welcome back those who may want to play contact rugby.

Long term outcomes will focus on creating stronger unions and regions, as measured by a new Union Development toolkit and an ambition to increase the total global playing population to over 10 million, and those playing regularly inactive teams to over 6m by 2025.

In line with World Rugby’s ongoing strategic commitment to grow the women’s game, the participation plan aims to increase active female players by a further 10 per cent by 2025.

A big focus of the plan is to create longer sustainable structures to promote lifelong participation in the game. The ambition to reach 60,000 active teams globally is an important part of establishing those structures.

World Rugby Chief Executive Alan Gilpin said: “The unions and regions are the lifeblood of the sport and our participation plan is rightly focused on strengthening and empowering our members to increase their capacity and capability to grow the game around the globe, reaching out to both existing and potential new participants.

“While recognising the challenges facing sport and wider society as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the plan sets out World Rugby’s long-term mission to grow participation across all forms of the game. The plan incorporates the ambition to continue to build a stronger, safer game that remains accessible to all.

“Participation is one of three core pillars in our new strategic plan, alongside competition and engagement, and is ultimately the reason we exist as an organisation. Our resolute focus on player welfare transcends all of our strategic planning and underpins this new participation plan. The future for rugby is bright and this plan aims to capitalise on the opportunity to further globalise and grow the game we love.”

FG, State Governors Partner To Endorse Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones Programme

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FG, State Governors Partner To Endorse Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones Programme

…Partners to mobilize $520 million for Phase 1

Nigeria’s Federal and State governments have expressed overwhelming support for an initiative to create Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) – public-private partnerships aimed at developing priority value chains through developing infrastructure in rural areas, focused on finishing and transforming raw materials and commodities.

At a high-level briefing session held on Monday, Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning Dr. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, who hosted the meeting, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to put in place enabling policies and incentives to attract private sector investment in the Zones, to ensure successful implementation.

“The Federal government is committed to successfully implementing the programme to increase agricultural production, reduce poverty, and scale up job creation across the country,” Ahmed said.

The participants, representatives of the African Development Bank Group, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), provided progress updates on the scheme, following their consultations with key stakeholders within the public and private sectors.

Director-General of the African Development Bank’s Nigeria Country Department, Lamin Barrow said the zones would be rolled out in 18 African countries, including Nigeria.

The Nigeria Special Agro-industrial Processing Zone programme consists of four mutually reinforcing components – infrastructure development and agro-industrial hubs management; agriculture productivity and production; policy and institutional development; and programme coordination and management.

“The Bank and its development partners are mobilizing $520 million to co-finance the first phase of the program in Nigeria, be implemented in phases across six geo-political zones,” Barrow said.

Ahmed said all 36 States in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory would be eligible to participate in the SAPZ programme. In addition to the Federal Capital Territory and 7 states – Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Imo, Cross River, Ogun and Oyo – participating in Phase 1, several other states have indicated an interest in the SAPZ programme. These include Bauchi, Lagos, Niger, Jigawa, Ekiti, Lagos, Taraba, Benue, Sokoto, Ondo, Nasarawa, Gombe and Kogi.

Prof. Oyebanji Oyeleran-Oyeyinka, Senior Adviser on Industrialisation to the President of the African Development Bank, said “the zone model is an explicit industrialization strategy to transform poor rural spaces into zones of prosperity, stem rural-urban migration, end human insecurity induced by herder-farmers clashes, and provide employment to Nigerian youth.”

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Richard Adebayo, commended the strategic initiative of the African Development Bank and its partners, and added “strong private sector participation will ensure that the project aligns with the Federal Government’s industrialization agenda.”

Also present at the meeting African Development Bank Group’s Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, Beth Dunford, said, “In the same manner that SAPZs have worked in other countries, it will create jobs, develop skills, and facilitate agricultural value chains development in Nigeria. Private sector investment is critical to the success of the SAPZs, as well as having the right policies in place. Action is needed now. The African Development Bank is ready to accelerate this action.”

IFAD’s Associate Vice President for Programme Management, Donald Brown said, “this flagship project will enable us to take our relationship with the African Development Bank to another level. Our relationship started 43 years ago, and since then we have worked together on 52 projects. But I think the Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones are the biggest and most high-profile project that IFAD and the Bank will work on together.”

Solomon Quaynor, African Development Bank’s Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization, noted that “the quality of industrial policies and design will influence the quality of private sector operators that can be attracted into the Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones.”

Ougfaly Badji, IsDB’s Senior Agricultural Economist said the zones would enable producers, processors, and the entire agricultural value chain in Nigeria, to become more functional and profitable.

Special Agro-industrial Processing is a flagship initiative of the Bank’s ‘Feed Africa’ strategic priority. They aim to provide end-to-end solutions and services that de-risk production, processing, and marketing operations of private sector actors as they boost manufacturing and transformation capacity in production areas.

The end result is improved livelihoods for millions in the rural areas as well as a reduction in poverty.

CBN Denies Non-Remittance Of 80% Surpluses

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CBN Denies Non-Remittance Of 80% Surpluses

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has denied allegation that it failed to remit 80 per cent of its operational surpluses into the Consolidated Revenue in the last five years.

Dr Kingsley Obiora, CBN Deputy Governor in charge of Economic Policy, said this at the senate public hearing on 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF)  in Abuja.

Obiora was reacting to an allegation by Sen. Solomon Adeola (APC-Lagos) that the CBN has not remitted its operational surpluses for five years.

He said 80 per cent of the apex bank’s operational surpluses had always been remitted to the CRF on yearly basis.

Obiora explained that the remittance was done in line with the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) and not that of the CBN Act, which stipulated 75 per cent remittance.

“With due respect to the Senate and in particular to this committee, the CBN, as a law-abiding government agency, has not at any time defaulted in the remittance of its operational surpluses.

“We do this on a yearly basis as required by the Fiscal Responsibility Act, despite the fact that the CBN Act requires us to remit 75 per cent only, ” he said.

Responding, Adeola urged the CBN to produce documentary evidence to prove its remittances to the committee on Sept. 3.

He also urged the apex bank to produce its audited account for the last five years.

FIFA Entrust AUB With Management Of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Rights In 17 Sub-Saharan Countries

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FIFA Entrust AUB With Management Of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Rights In 17 Sub-Saharan Countries
As a prelude to the next FIFA World Cup that will take place in 2022, in Qatar, the African Union of Broadcasting has been handed the Free-To-Air rights for the Qualifying matches in 17 Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, thus making AUB the exclusive Partner for the commercialization of the rights in the following countries:
Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, Zambia.
In previous months, FIFA (www.FIFA.com) launched an Invitation to Tender for the Commercialization of the terrestrial free-to-air rights in the Sub-Saharan Africa Region.
The Tender process revealed that AUB was the winner of the rights in some 17 countries ready to broadcast the event for the good of football fans.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification process is a series of tournaments organized by the six FIFA Confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams that will play the FIFA World Cup, with Qatar qualifying automatically as host.
Qualifiers process opened in 2019 but suffered numerous postponements due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
At the end of the qualification process, five African Nations will represent the continent in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Tournament.

Ghana To Reverse Land Degradation With World Bank Support

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Ghana To Reverse Land Degradation With World Bank Support
The World Bank approved $103.4 million for Ghana to reverse land degradation and strengthen integrated natural resource management in about 3 million hectares of degraded landscapes, working with communities of the Northern Savannah Zone and the cocoa forest landscape. 
The cost of environmental degradation in Ghana due to unsustainable use of land for agriculture, forests, and mining stands at 2.8 percent of the national GDP (2017). If the current natural resource extraction remains unchanged, Ghana will see its natural resource base destroyed over the long term, with fewer opportunities to sustain growth and shared prosperity.
“The project will help boost post-COVID-19 economic recovery, create jobs and secure livelihoods in some of the poorest parts of Ghana by focusing on agricultural productivity, ecosystems management and sustainable small-scale mining,” said World Bank Country Director, Pierre Laporte.
The Ghana Landscape Restoration and Small-Scale Mining project will focus on land-use planning for integrated landscape management and promote sustainable mining by helping formalize artisanal and small-scale mining. It will also support sustainable land, water, and forest management activities in the climate-vulnerable target landscapes.
“The project aims to place landscapes and mining sector management on a path that would transition from degraded landscapes, poverty, and low productivity toward one of resilient landscapes that optimize the ecosystem functions for better livelihoods and more sustainable economic returns,” said World Bank Practice Manager, Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy, Sanjay Srivastava.
The project will also enhance women’s role in local-level forest and landscape management activities, and create better income-generating opportunities. Over 250,000 people will benefit from the project.
“This joint project aligns with the World Bank’s Forest-Smart Mining Initiative and will promote forest-smart interventions in the artisanal and small-scale mining sector and strengthen regulatory compliance and sustainable mining practices,” said World Bank Acting Practice Manager, Energy & Extractives Global Practice, Zubin Bamji.
The financing includes an IDA credit of $75 million and $28.4 million in grants from the Global Environmental Facility, the Extractive Global Programmatic Support, and the Global Partnership for Sustainable and Resilient Landscapes (PROGREEN) multi-donor Trust Funds.
* The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), established in 1960, helps the world’s poorest countries by providing grants and low to zero-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve poor people’s lives. IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the world’s 75 poorest countries, 39 of which are in Africa. Resources from IDA bring positive change to the 1.6 billion people who live in IDA countries. Since 1960, IDA has supported development work in 113 countries. Annual commitments have averaged about $21 billion over the last three years, with about 61 percent going to Africa.

World Premiere Of The First Performance Hybrid From Mercedes-AMG

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World Premiere Of The First Performance Hybrid From Mercedes-AMG

The first performance hybrid from Mercedes-AMG is entering series production, drawing upon technologies from Formula 1.

The concept includes a distinctive drive layout with an electric motor and battery on the rear axle as well as a high-performance battery developed in-house. The Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E PERFORMANCE combines superior performance and impressive driving dynamics with maximum efficiency thanks to its special powertrain.

The E PERFORMANCE model thus transfers the DNA of AMG Driving Performance into the electrified future. The combination of a 4.0-liter V8 biturbo engine and electric motor generates a system output of 620 kW (831 hp) and a maximum system torque of more than 1,400 Nm (1,033 lb-ft).

The electric drive’s immediate response at the rear axle, rapid torque build-up and improved weight distribution make for a new, highly dynamic driving experience. As in Formula 1, the battery is specifically designed for fast power delivery and draw.

The electric range of 12 kilometers (7 miles) allows a practical operating radius, for example in the city or in residential areas. Mercedes-AMG is breaking new ground in communication on electrification together with brand ambassador will. i.am: The world-famous musician and multiple Grammy Award winners is the protagonist of the marketing campaign “Everything but quiet”. He not only contributed to the concept but also wrote an exclusive song for the release video.

How To Apply For Gulder Ultimate Search

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How To Apply For Gulder Ultimate Search

Gulder Ultimate Search (GUS) has returned and details of how to apply for Gulder Ultimate Search can be accessed below.

Brand Spur Nigeria reports that Gulder Ultimate Search, the survival reality show that dominated the Nigerian airwaves in the early 2000s, is making its triumphant return after seven years off the air.

Created and sponsored by Nigerian Breweries Plc, manufacturers of Gulder lager beer, GUS started in 2004 and enjoyed 11 seasons on the air. The show went on to become the most-watched reality TV series in Nigeria before it ended in 2016.

The likes of Kunle Remi, Dennis Okike and Chris Okagbue who had won different editions have become household names in the entertainment industry.

Nigerian Breweries (NB) Plc. has officially announced that the show would make its comeback with “The Age of Craftsmanship” as the theme for the 2021 edition.

Nigerian Breweries (NB) Plc. officially announced that the show would make its comeback and this year’s theme is “The Age of Craftsmanship”.

To apply, interested participants have to be Nigerians between 21-35 years old.

Applications should be submitted to www.gulderultimatesearch.ng between September 1, 2021, and September 8, 2021.

Shortlisted applicants will undergo a regional selection process in Abuja and Enugu on September 13 and 14, while the selection will take place in Lagos on September 16 and 17, 2021.

The show will air on DStv and other local stations across the country. However, the host of the show is yet to be unveiled.

The Virtuous Cycle Of Recycling Home Appliances

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The Virtuous Cycle Of Recycling Home Appliances

Plastics are used in almost every product imaginable, from disposable shopping bags and water bottles to products that are with us for years, such as refrigerators, furniture, and automobiles.

Plastic is ubiquitous in the modern world and its invention has undoubtedly made daily life easier and more convenient. But our dependence on plastic products, which has increased even more during the pandemic, is a cause for concern due to its negative effect on the health of the planet.

As most plastics contain toxic chemicals and don’t biodegrade over time like natural materials, they can wreak havoc on the environment and on the health of human and animal life if not recycled or disposed of properly. But it’s not just plastics. Electronic waste, heavy metals and refrigerant gases have also become serious pollution problems that need to be tackled. If recycling is to be a part of the solution, the world must do better, as currently less than 10 percent of all consumer and commercial products made are recycled.1 The bulk of these unwanted products represents millions and millions of tons of waste each year and end up in landfills around the world.

Helping to create a virtuous cycle by improving recycling efficiency and reducing the environmental impact from products that have reached the end of their lifespan, LG Electronics is investing in a state-of-the-art recycling facility in its home country. Located in Hamyang County, South Korea, the LG Recycling Center collects a broad range of discarded household appliances which after disassembling, crushing and screening are reborn as useful materials that will be reused in new appliances, beginning their lifecycle again.

Every year, the center recycles more than half a million appliances, including refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners. With its skilled technicians, tried-and-true processes and specialized equipment, scrapped products are stripped of useful materials such as aluminum, copper, steel and of course plastic, to be used again in new LG home appliances.

Starting with recycling at Chilseo, let’s take a look at the four main steps that turn old appliances from waste to parts for new products.

Step One: Disassemble, Crush, Sort

Once the appliances have been collected at the Chilseo Recycling Center, workers manually remove both mechanical and detachable plastic components such as compressors, drawers and shelving. Any remaining refrigerant is safely extracted using a gas recovery device.

The patented system – the first of its kind – automates the entire removal process, which greatly increases efficiency and employee safety. Appliance frames are then crushed and then sorted into iron, copper, plastic, aluminum, etc., through a variety of methods using vibration, gravity, magnets and air.

Step Two: Broken Plastic to Neat Pellets

Crushed plastic harvested from the disassembled products are moved to another facility and sorted another time using water before being melted, cooled and cut into small pellets of uniform size. With their consistent shape, scale and composition, the pellets are perfect for use in the manufacturing of plastic parts and goods, offering dual benefits of reducing both waste and effort required to create new products.

Step Three: Transformation Into New Components

Next, the pellets are transferred to another site where they are melted down, poured into molds and transformed into plastic components for new LG refrigerator models.

Step Four: Rebirth

The plastic components are then moved to LG’s Changwon plant, the company’s main home appliance manufacturing facility 30 kilometers away to be repurposed in LG refrigerators as shrouds, ducts and handles, among other components.2 And, of course, the reborn parts all meet the strict high quality standards LG expects from all its components.

Restoring the health of our planet and protecting it for future generations requires continuous action and dedication on everyone’s part. One of the best ways to preserve the Earth’s resources and reduce our footprint is through creating a virtuous cycle where we recycle, reuse and repurpose what we already have. From eco-conscious manufacturing and product design to responsible recycling and waste management and development of sustainable technologies, LG continues its journey to ensure a better tomorrow.

Check out the full video on LG’s recycling efforts here.

Olam Secures Landmark US$5.2 Billion Financing

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Olam Secures Landmark US$5.2 Billion Financing

Leading global food and agri-business, Olam International Limited announced today that it has secured three committed loan facilities aggregating US$5.2 billion.

The three facilities comprise a US$1.2 billion 3-year term loan and two 18-month bridge loan facilities of US$2.0 billion each. The term loan facility will be used for general corporate purposes of the Olam Group while the bridge loan facilities will be used to facilitate Olam’s Re-organisation Plan.

The terms of the three facility agreements include provisions that allow Olam to allocate the facilities to Olam Food Ingredients (“OFI”), Olam Global Agri (“OGA”) and Olam International (“OIL”) operating groups post the carve-out, separation, demerger and IPO of OFI as per the Re-organisation Plan.

The term loan and one of the bridge loan facilities has entities from OFI as Co-Borrowers, while the second bridge loan has entities from OGA and OIL as additional Co-Borrowers. All facilities are guaranteed by Olam.

Citibank, JP Morgan Chase Bank, MUFG Bank Ltd. and The Hongkong And Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (“HSBC”) participated as Senior Mandated Lead Arrangers for the facilities. HSBC is the Facility Agent.

5 Reasons The Postal Reform Bill Is Wrong For The Courier Sector In Nigeria

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5 Reasons The Postal Reform Bill Is Wrong For The Courier Sector In Nigeria

The Nigerian Senate has commenced action on the Postal Service (Repeal and Reenactment) Bill for 2021, which restricts Nigerian postal services to only postal operations in the country.

Brand Spur Nigeria reports that the bill also aims to Unbundle the Nigerian postal service(NIPOST) and also position Nipost as a standard postal service while alienating existing private courier and logistics companies.

Here are 5 reasons the bill should not be allowed to be implemented in Nigeria:

  • The bill seems to make existing logistics licenses invalid while making it compulsory for existing companies to start the application process afresh and what this means is that they get to dictate who gets the new license first and who doesn’t, thereby disturbing the current flow of operations.
  • The bill also requires that 2% of annual turnover from the logistics is expected to be paid to the regulatory part of NIPOST expected to stand alone. What this means is that for big logistics companies like DHL, they get to remit 1.3 billion naira annually whether they make profit or not. An annual turnover policy is at the detriment of existing logistics companies and can be seen as an antic to slowly kill these logistics businesses.
  • Also, the implementation of these bills would not only slowly kill companies but the implications would include job loss for several Nigerians who have given their all to help build these logistics and courier companies. As we all know that in a society where people struggle to get jobs, imagine an increase in unemployment rate thanks to poor analysis of a policy meant to help provide value to people while generating revenue to the government.
  • The Bill also gives room for a monopoly to exist in an industry that should operate on the principles of the free-market economy where the advantages are many but the bill seems to be set up to help NIPOST gain monopoly of a certain kilogramme of parcels, documents, and valuable items, this exclusivity is dangerous as consumers would have to depend on one organization to deliver and receive what is theirs and one of the disadvantages this would cause is service delivery delay and this was what killed Nipost in the first place as it engendered poor service delivery.
  • Another disadvantage is that lack of competition increases the lack of growth in the logistics industry to deliver exceptional services that would be of value to the consumers as there would be no competition to challenge the stagnant market.
  • The Nigerian lawmakers and the government, in general, are known to always cite world best practices even though it is probably emulating and using practices that support their agenda when crafting bills. It is an improper and inadequate analysis when a policy is being crafted just based on best practices, the question is have the best practices been interrogated to understand why they are working for other countries, and have they considered the implications of having a similar structure adopted by Nigeria. A half-baked or non-analysis is going to cause many unseen problems. If the foundation of the postal reform bill is based on just best practices without consideration on how that policy was designed to work in other countries, what issues these countries encountered, what structures these countries put in place and how all these translate into workable systems then the policy is bound to fail and instead cause problems.

The above reasons are why these reform bill should be reviewed and analyzed from the stakeholders’ and consumers’ point of view, without these considerations the bill would probably not just destroy the existing structure but set Nigeria back to old times when Nigerians solely used the NIPOST and Nitel. People seek progressive policies and not the ones that would set them back.

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