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Ghana Rugby is introducing women to rugby, creating new opportunities for confidence, connection and inclusion.
In Ghana’s crowded urban markets, women weave through narrow aisles balancing heavy loads on their heads — sacks of grain, crates of produce and bundles of goods destined for stalls across the market. Known as Kayayei, many of these women have migrated from northern regions to cities like Accra in search of work, often facing long hours, unstable income and limited access to education or healthcare.
Now, a new initiative is introducing something unexpected into that environment: rugby.
Launched by the Ghana Rugby Football Union, the Empower Her–Kayayei Program is creating new opportunities for women aged 18 and older through sport. The program uses rugby as a platform for building confidence, developing life skills and supporting health and wellbeing for women who have historically had little access to organized sport.
Participants are introduced to T1 Rugby, a non-contact version of the sport designed to be more accessible for beginners while encouraging teamwork and physical activity.
The initiative launched on February 1 at Accra’s Agbogbloshie Market, where Ghana Rugby representatives met with leaders of the Kayayei Association and introduced the women to the possibilities within the sport.
During the launch event, participants watched screenings of rugby matches highlighting Ghana’s international participation before stepping onto the field themselves for a hands-on T1 rugby session. Passing drills, catching exercises and simple team games quickly turned curiosity into laughter and confidence.
“Rugby offers pathways beyond playing,” program leaders explained, noting that participants can also pursue roles as coaches, match officials, volunteers and administrators within the sport.
The program builds on Rugby Rising Play Ghana, a community initiative focused on teenage girls in underserved communities that combines menstrual health education, life skills training and rugby instruction. The new effort extends this into adulthood, ensuring opportunities do not end once girls leave school.
Beyond sport, the program also reflects a broader effort to support the wellbeing of the women involved. During the launch activities, essential items such as sanitary pads and washing supplies were distributed alongside rugby equipment and the training sessions.
In a moment that reflected the spirit of the exchange, Kayayei participants presented the Ghana Rugby team with yam tubers as a gesture of appreciation.
The initiative also featured in recent International Women’s Day celebrations, when the federation organized activities and friendly matches between the national women’s team, participants and youth rugby teams from Cape Coast and Dodowa.
For many Kayayei women, daily life revolves around physically demanding work and long hours in crowded markets, often leaving little time or opportunity for sport and recreation. Programs like Empower Her aim to create space for something different. By bringing sport directly into the communities where these women live and work, Ghana Rugby is using the game to build confidence, connection and new possibilities.
Through rugby drills, shared community and the experience of stepping onto the field as teammates, the program is beginning to show how sport can open doors — offering women who carry heavy loads each day the chance to be seen not only as workers, but as athletes, leaders and members of a growing sporting ecosystem.
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