The Namibia Rugby Union (NRU) has officially appointed seasoned sport administrator John Heynes as its new chief executive officer with effect from 14 March on a five-year contract.
The union announced the appointment yesterday, saying the former operations manager of Cricket Namibia (CN) has the required skills and knowledge to steer the NRU and local rugby to greater heights.
“After consultation with World Rugby, and taking into consideration the strategic initiatives that were agreed upon to be implemented during the next World Cup cycle, we approved the appointment of John Heynes as CEO. We are confident that Heynes will serve as a valuable asset to the organisation and his extensive experience in sports leadership will be instrumental in driving the development of rugby forward,” reads the NRU statement issued yesterday.
Heynes is not new to sports administration, as he first served as the development officer of CN from 2004 to 2015, and was later promoted to the position of operations manager in 2015 and served in that position until this recent appointment as NRU CEO.
In an interview with Nampa, Heynes said his short-term goal is to make sure the senior team qualifies for the World Cup while strengthening structures within the NRU and club administration.
“The long-term goal is to ensure that there is success between the short-term and mid-term goals, making sure that the senior national teams continue to play at higher levels,” the CEO stated.
Heynes noted that his time at CN will come in handy in his new position.
“I will also use my contacts from the cricket world for rugby, but we need success stories, content, a good brand and a clear plan going forward,” he said.
Among other strategic objectives, he will be expected to make sure the union’s books are in good health, to ensure the union’s strategic plans are fully rolled out, and that all grassroots development programmes are implemented as per their set timelines.
Heynes will also be expected to place especial emphasis on the NRU’s various pathway programmes for school players and clubs as well as other important areas of development in the regions.
– ohembapu@nepc.com.na