Rugby Africa Appoints Dr. Adisha Bholah as Women’s Rugby Manager and Wassim Saadallah as Management Assistant
CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Today, Rugby Africa (www.rugbyafrique.com), the continental governing body of rugby in Africa, appoints Dr. Adisha Bholah as Women’s Rugby Manager and Wassim Saadallah as Rugby Africa Management Assistant, strengthening its commitment to advancing women’s rugby development and operational capacity across the continent.
The appointments form part of Rugby Africa’s ongoing implementation of its Strategic Plan 2023–2027, which prioritises the growth of women’s and girls’ rugby, stronger governance structures, and improved support systems for Member Unions across Africa.
A Mauritius native, Dr. Adisha Bholah joins Rugby Africa as Women’s Rugby Manager, bringing extensive experience in rugby administration, sports governance, and player welfare. A former Chief Medical Officer of Mauritius Rugby, she has also served as a member of the World Rugby Player Welfare Committee and Rugby Africa Safeguarding Commitee, contributing to global discussions on athlete safety an player welfare. Dr. Bholah also holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA), complementing her medical expertise with strategic leadership and sports management experience.
In her new role, Dr. Bholah will lead the development and implementation of Rugby Africa’s continental strategy for women’s and girls’ rugby across all formats, including sevens, fifteens and youth pathways. Working closely with Member Unions, Rugby Africa governance bodies and international partners, Dr.Bholah will support the growth of participation, strengthen domestic competition structures and advance leadership opportunities for women within rugby. She will support the growth of participation, strengthen high-performance and domestic competition structures, and advance leadership opportunities for women within rugby across Africa
Rugby Africa has appointed Tunisian national Wassim Saadallah as Rugby Africa Management Assistant, a role focused on strengthening the organisation’s administrative and operational capacity while supporting General Manager, Maha Zaoui.
Saadallah brings significant experience in sports administration, event management and strategic communication. He previously worked with the Tunisian Rugby Federation, contributing to the organisation of major events including the Rugby Africa Sevens Cup 2008.
He has also served as a strategic manager and communications planner with Developing Sport Consulting, where he supported the design and delivery of international sporting events and developed communication strategies for organisations including SuperSport, CTN, ONTT and I2 Télécom.
Through these appointments, Rugby Africa continues to advance its mission of innovating, inspiring and engaging new audiences to grow rugby across Africa, while strengthening the structures that support the long-term development of the game across the continent.
