Despite the supremacy of football as the "king" sport in Africa, rugby is trying to find a place for itself.
In Ivory Coast, this sport even has a significant social dimension, notably contributing to the educational reintegration of children in Abobo, one of the disadvantaged neighborhoods of Abidjan.
“The first thing is to teach them the taste of life through the practice of sport. This is why the main theme of the club is the integration of youth through the practice of rugby,” explains Erman Yao, the main educator of the club.
Here the means are rudimentary: a vacant lot, a few plots... But the children appreciate it.
And educators take the opportunity to emphasize the benefits of schooling when only 60% of their students go there on a daily basis.
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Among the supporters of this initiative, there is Bakary Meïté, former professional and international Ivorian player: “When they are here, they are not in the street,” praises the international.
“We pick up children who were not in school and we get them back into school. We explain to them that thanks to rugby, they can do something else.”
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