Herbert Mensah takes Africa’s sports economy case to the UN General Assembly Week in New York

Rugby Africa President Herbert Mensah will represent Africa's interests at the UN General Assembly High-Level Week in New York. Mensah, who is also part of the World Rugby Executive Board and chairs World Rugby Regions, will discuss retaining more economic value created by African sporting talent on September 21. The session, titled "Real Value from the Field: Protecting and Profiting from Africa’s Talent Pipeline," aims to explore how improved contracts, advanced scouting systems, and stronger regional leagues can ensure that a larger portion of the value generated by African athletes remains in Africa.

The event, which is expected to draw around 4,000 participants, including heads of state, global business leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs, will position sports as a crucial part of Africa's economic and investment conversation. Mensah's participation highlights the importance of seeing sports as more than just entertainment, emphasizing the need for African sports businesses to own more of the value generated by their athletes.

By connecting sports development with investment, intellectual property, professional leagues, infrastructure, and institution-building, Mensah's involvement at GABI creates an opportunity to strengthen the argument for Africa's next sports revolution to be about owning and benefiting from the value it creates.