All-Male Committee Chairpersons Appointed By Asia Rugby For 2024-2028

In what seems like a step backwards in progress and diversity from the regional governing body, Asia Rugby’s EXCO has appointed its new committee chairpersons which features no female representation.

In 2021, Asia Rugby said it was pushing for female representation in Committees to 30 per cent, but at the top level (considering only 3 out of 13 of the recently elected EXCO 2024-2028 are female) and none of the committee chairpersons are female, it only adds to the growing frustration of the leadership in the region.

The announcement from Asia Rugby on December 16, 2024, says that Asanga Seneviratne and Vela Tan have also been Independent Officers, while the EXCO confirmed the appointment of key chairpersons as well as four new committees!

This newly announced committee structure is increasingly bloated, with one commentator online pointing out that the current 14 committees at Asia Rugby (which oversaw far less international rugby than in Europe for example) but Rugby Europe has only 5 committees to oversee the governance of the sport.

Asia Rugby Committee Chairpersons 2024-2028

There were 9 Asia Rugby committees structured in 2021, and now there are 14.

The Audit & Risk, as well as Finance roles probably have the biggest spotlight of them as Asia Rugby tries to navigate itself out of its poor position as exposed by the E&Y World Rugby audit.

The Nominations Committee will be led by Vela Tan and part of this role will be identifying candidates for the five sub-regions and “improving the achieved 32% female inclusion across all committees.”

• Administration & Finance: Terence Khoo from Singapore
• Advisory: Professor Zu’bi Al Zu’bi from Jordan
• Athletes: Michael Leitch from Japan
• Audit & Risk: Raju Lal from India
• Competitions: Asanga Seneviratne from Sri Lanka
• Development: Mohamad Jarkou from Syria
• Digital Transformation: Gerald Prabhu from India
• Ethics & Governance: Tanka Lal Ghising from Nepal
• International Relations: Mirmehdi Hosseini from Iran
• Judiciary: Ramesh Lachmanan from Malaysia
• Match Officials: Rizwan Malik from Pakistan
• Sport and Environment: Nalin De Silva from Sri Lanka
• Sport for All: Sayeed Ahmed from Bangladesh

New Asia Rugby Committees

• International Relations Committee – Focusing on managing international partnerships and aligning Asia Rugby’s international strategies with its overall goals.
• Digital Transformation Committee – Drive Asia Rugby’s digital advancement by enhancing operational efficiency through technology and data monetization.
• Sport for All Committee – Tasked with championing inclusivity and equal opportunities in rugby.
• Sport and Environment Committee – Promoting environmental sustainability within rugby, integrating environmental considerations into governance, events, and infrastructure while advocating for environmental stewardship.

Asia Rugby President Qais Al-Dhalai said, “We hope this brings us closer to achieving our target of 40% female representation on committees, reinforcing our defining principles of Equality, Transparency, and Accountability.”

In what world the Asia Rugby President thinks this is a good look is beyond belief. It is not just Rugby Asia 247 who share this opinion – we received many messages from people who were disappointed and ‘disgusted’ by the appointments. On their own social media pages, Asia Rugby has been accused of deleting and removing posts from those who expressed they are unhappy.

From his mandate when he unsuccessfully ran for the World Rugby Executive Board recently in 2024, Qais Al-Dhalai said; “His commitment to women’s rugby has been especially impactful; Qais has championed the growth of the women’s game, launching initiatives to encourage more female participation in all aspects reflecting remarkable progress towards his vision of making rugby accessible and inclusive for all.”

So here we are as we nearly enter 2025, an Asia Rugby EXCO under a cloud of financial and governance doubt, the region financially suspended by World Rugby, and no female representation on any of the bloated committee chairpersons positions.

Rugby Governance News 2024

• Asia Rugby 2024-2028 Executive Committee Elections Nominees.
• Asia Rugby President & EXCO 2024-2028 – Financial Fallout Continues.
• Asia Rugby’s Leadership & Governance Called Into Question With Damning World Rugby Independent Financial Audit.
• Dr Brett Robinson Elected As New World Rugby Chair & Exec Board Elected 2024-2028.