European Rugby League
| File:Rugby league euro fed.JPG | |
| Abbreviation | RLEF |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1 January 2003 |
| Type | Sports organisation |
| Headquarters | Leeds, England |
Region served | Europe, Africa, Middle East, North America |
Membership | 14 |
Official language | French, English |
Chairman | Maurice Watkins |
Parent organization | International Federation |
| Website | www |
The Rugby League European Federation (RLEF) is the umbrella body for nations playing the sport of rugby league football across Europe and the Northern Hemisphere.[1] It supports the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF).[1] The RLEF "oversees and co-ordinates the development of the sport in all its member countries and those neighbouring organisations that choose to link to the RLEF".[1] The RLEF operates several competitions, most notably the European Cup.
History
The federation was founded January 2003 following an initiative between Richard Lewis, Executive Chairman of Britain's Rugby Football League (RFL) and his French counterpart Jean Paul Ferre.[1] The RLEF's first constitution was approved in January 2004 and the federation's first Board of Directors was elected.[1] This first Board of Directors consisted of Jean Paul Ferre as President/Chairman and Richard Lewis as Deputy Chairman with Nigel Wood and Nicolas Larrat being the other Board members.[1] Representatives for Morocco, Italy, Serbia, Russia, Lebanon, Ireland, Scotland and Wales attended.[1] Russia became a full member of the RLEF, joining Britain and France, and the RLIF soon after.[1]
At the time of its foundation, the RLEF placed a "particular emphasis on generating development funding within each country".[1] Historically, much of the development work conducted in Europe had been funded by the RFL.[2] Following the profitable 2008 World Cup, the RFL and RLEF prepared to bid for funds to enhance their activities.[2]
In December 2009, Kevin Rudd, a former Scotland rugby league international, stepped down as Executive Officer of the RLEF after more than five years in the post.[3] RLEF Chairman Richard Lewis stated that Rudd "has done an outstanding job and created a platform, structure and competitions framework that can take us into the future".[3] Rudd was succeeded by Danny Kazandjian.[4] Kazandjian had previously been a key figure in the establishment of rugby league in Lebanon and had led the RLEF's development drive in the Mediterranean and Middle East regions as Director of Development for the Euro-Med region.[4]
Competitions
| Competitions | Champion | Title |
|---|---|---|
| European Championship |  Wales
|
7th |
| European Championship B |  Serbia
|
3rd |
| European Championship C |  Spain
|
1st |
| Balkans Cup |  Greece
|
1st |
| Nordic Cup |  Denmark
|
3rd |
RLEF board
Current Board
| Member | Position | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Maurice Watkins | Chairman |  England
|
| Nicolas Larrat | Vice Chairman |  France
|
| Gary Tasker | Board member | England
|
| Jean Alain Rives | Bord member | France
|
Membership
Currently seven nations are full members of the federation; there are also seven associate members and six official observers. Full members are entitled to a greater proportion of voting rights and to become members of the Rugby League International Federation.
In order to become an associate member, a nation must meet the following criteria:
- Implementation of a constitution and rules that commit the governing body to acting in the best interest of rugby league, throughout the whole of their country.[1]
- Production of an annual financial report.[1]
- Running a league competition with at least four teams.[1]
- Implementation of a junior development programme.[1]
- The production of a Business Development Plan outlining an organisation's future aims, including aims to find part funding for staff positions.[1]
- A communications strategy.[1]
- An administrators, match officials and coach education strategy.[1]
The RLEF stipulates that continued associate and full membership of the federation is subject to a check every two years to ensure that the minimum criteria are still being met.[1]
Full members
| Association | National team | Founded | RLIF affiliation |
RLEF affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rugby Football League | England Great Britain
|
1895 | 1948 | 2003 |
| Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII | France
|
1934 | 1948 | 2003 |
| Rugby League Ireland |  Ireland
|
1988 | 2000 | 2003 |
| Jamaica Rugby League Association |  Jamaica
|
2004 | 2013 | 2004 |
| Lebanese Rugby League Federation |  Lebanon
|
2003 | 2012 | 2003 |
| Russian Rugby League |  Russia
|
2010 | 2013 | 2013 |
| Scotland Rugby League |  Scotland
|
1994 | 2011 | 2003 |
| Serbian Rugby League | Serbia
|
2004 | 2012 | 2004 |
| South African Rugby League |  South Africa
|
1998 | 1998 | 2003 |
| Ukrainian Federation of Rugby League |  Ukraine
|
2008 | 2013 | 2013 |
| Wales Rugby League | Wales
|
2005 | 2010 | 2010 |
Associate members
| Association | National team | Founded |
|---|---|---|
| Canada Rugby League |  Canada
|
2010 |
| Czech Rugby League Association |  Czech Republic
|
2005 |
| Hellas Rugby League Federation | Greece
|
2003 |
| Federazione Italiana Rugby League |  Italy
|
2008 |
| Latvia Rugby League |  Latvia
|
2009 |
| Maltese Rugby League Association |  Malta
|
2008 |
| Norway Rugby League |  Norway
|
2009 |
| Asociación Española de Rugby League | Spain
|
2013 |
| USA Rugby League |  United States
|
2011 |
Official observers
Belgium Rugby League Association
Dansk Rugby League Forbund
Rugby League Deutschland
Ghana Rugby League
Hungarian Rugby League Federation
Morocco Rugby League
Netherlandse Rugby League Bond
Rugby League Nigeria
Palestinian Rugby League
Saudi Arabian Rugby League Association
Sierra Leone Rugby League
Sweden Rugby League
Trinidad & Tobago Rugby League Association
Emirates Rugby League
RLEF national team results at World Cups
| Team | 1954 | 1957 | 1960 | 1968 | 1970 | 1972 | 1975 | 1977 | 1985-88 | 1989-92 | 1995 | 2000 | 2008 | 2013 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Belgium |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Canada |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Czech Republic |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Denmark |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| England |
- | - | - | - | - | - | 2nd | - | - | - | 2nd | SF | SF | SF | Q |
| France |
2nd | Group Stage | Group Stage | 2nd | Group Stage | Group Stage | Group Stage | Group Stage | Group Stage | Group Stage | Group Stage | QF | Group Stage | QF | Q |
 Germany |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 Ghana |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Great Britain |
1st | 2nd | 1st | Group stage | 2nd | 1st | - | 2nd | Group stage | 2nd | - | - | - | - | - |
| Greece |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 Hungary |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ireland |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | QF | QF | Group Stage | |
| Italy |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Group Stage | |
| Jamaica |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Latvia |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Lebanon |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Group Stage | - | - | Q |
| Malta |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 Morocco |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 Netherlands |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 Nigeria |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Norway |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 Palestine |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Russia |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Group Stage | - | - | |
 Saudi Arabia |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Scotland |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Group Stage | Group Stage | QF | Q |
| Serbia |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
 Sierra Leone |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| South Africa |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Group Stage | Group Stage | - | - | - |
| Spain |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 Sweden |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 Trinidad and Tobago |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ukraine |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 United Arab Emirates |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| United States |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | QF | |
| Wales |
- | - | - | - | - | - | Group Stage | - | - | - | SF | SF | - | Group Stage |
Official RLEF Seedings
| Rank | Movement | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
England
|
| 2 | France
| |
| 3 |  1 |
Ireland
|
| 4 | Scotland
| |
| 5 |  2 |
Wales
|
| 6 | |
Italy
|
| 7 | 2 |
Serbia
|
| 8 | |
Canada
|
| 9 | 2 |
Russia
|
| 10 | |
Germany
|
| 11 | Norway
| |
| 12 | Ukraine
| |
| 13 | 1 |
Belgium
|
| 14 | 4 |
Greece
|
| 15 | 2 |
Lebanon
|
| 16 | 1 |
Malta
|
| 17 | |
Netherlands
|
| 18 | 1 |
Denmark
|
| 19 | 3 |
Jamaica
|
| 20 | |
Spain
|
| 21 | 1 |
Czech Republic
|
| 22 | 2 |
Sweden
|
| 23 | 2 |
South Africa
|
| 24 | 1 |
Hungary
|
| 25 | 2 |
Latvia
|
| 26 | |
Morocco
|
| 27 | NEW | Ghana
|
| 28 | Trinidad and Tobago
| |
| 29 | United Arab Emirates
|
See also
- Rugby League International Federation
- European Cup
- European Shield
- European Bowl
- RLEF Euro Med Challenge
External links
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q RLEF. "Overview". Rugby League European Federation. Archived from the original on 2010-08-06. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
- ^ a b Michael Fisher (2009-01-02). "RFL chief executive Nigel Wood backs Super League to flourish". Telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2010-08-06. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
- ^ a b rugbyleague.com (2009-12-18). "Euro development boss to step down". rugbyleague.com. Archived from the original on 2010-08-06. Retrieved 2010-08-06.
- ^ a b rugbyleague.com (2010-05-21). "RLEF appoint new development exec". rugbyleague.com. Archived from the original on 2010-08-06. Retrieved 2010-08-06.