West African nation Ghana has been officially welcomed into the international rugby league family at this week’s 2025 IRL Annual General Meeting.
Ghana becomes just the 15th country to be granted full member IRL status and the first since Italy in 2017.
At a time when international rugby league is undergoing a rapid transformation, most notably in the Pacific region, IRL Chair Troy Grant was delighted with the announcement that sees just the second full member nation on the African continent.
“Since the project began in 2012 the Ghanian rugby league (RLFG) community has gone from strength to strength and is an absolute testimony to what can be achieved with good governance,” Grant said.
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“From schoolboys and schoolgirls in multiple areas of the country, right the way through to the national teams, domestic pathways exist and a true rugby league community has been created and nurtured,” Grant added.
“RLFG is in many ways a pioneer and we look forward to seeing other aspirational full members follow in their footsteps.”
Ghana has fielded national teams since 2019 with a men’s club competition running for six years.
Women’s and youth competitions were also introduced in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
Fourteen teams participated in the 2025 season with over 430 registered players.
RLFG President Juliana Storey said she was overwhelmed by Ghana’s elevation to full member status.
“With the exception of South Africa, Ghana now stands as the first nation on the African continent to strive for and achieve this prestigious status within the global rugby league family,” Storey said.
“On behalf of the entire RLFG team, we pledge to uphold the highest standards expected of IRL members and to continue developing rugby league across Ghana and the wider African continent.”
Ghana joins Australia, Cook Islands, England, Fiji, France, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Serbia, South Africa, Tonga, Ukraine and Wales as full IRL members.