Rugby League European Federation

Rugby League European Federation
Abbreviation RLEF
Formation 1 January 2003 (2003-01-01)
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.rlef.eu.com

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 eleven nations are full members of the federation; there are also nine associate members and thirteen 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:

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

Former Observer Members

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---2ndSFSFSFQ
 France2ndGroup StageGroup Stage2ndGroup StageGroup StageGroup StageGroup StageGroup StageGroup StageGroup StageQFGroup StageQFQ
 Germany---------------
 Ghana---------------
 Great Britain1st2nd1stGroup stage2nd1st-2ndGroup stage2nd-----
 Greece---------------
 Hungary---------------
 Ireland-----------QFQFGroup Stage
 Italy-------------Group Stage
 Jamaica---------------
 Latvia---------------
 Lebanon-----------Group Stage--Q
 Malta---------------
 Morocco---------------
 Netherlands---------------
 Nigeria---------------
 Norway---------------
 Palestine---------------
 Russia-----------Group Stage--
 Saudi Arabia---------------
 Scotland-----------Group StageGroup StageQFQ
 Serbia--------------
 Sierra Leone---------------
 South Africa----------Group StageGroup Stage---
 Spain---------------
 Sweden---------------
 Trinidad and Tobago---------------
 Ukraine---------------
 United Arab Emirates--------------Disbanded
 United States-------------QF
 Wales------Group Stage---SFSF-Group Stage

Official RLEF Seedings

Rank Movement Team
1 Steady  England
2  France
3  Ireland
4 Increase 1  Wales
5 Decrease 1  Scotland
6 Increase 1  Serbia
7 Decrease 1  Italy
8 Steady  Canada
9  Russia
10 Increase 3  Belgium
11 Increase 5  Malta
12 Increase 3  Lebanon
13 Increase 7  Spain
14 Decrease 4  Germany
15 Decrease 3  Ukraine
16 Decrease 2  Greece
17 Increase 1  Denmark
18 Decrease 7  Norway
19 Steady  Jamaica
20 Increase 2  Sweden
21 Steady  Czech Republic
22 Decrease 5  Netherlands
23 Steady  South Africa
24  Hungary
25  Latvia
26  Morocco
27  Ghana
28  Trinidad and Tobago

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 RLEF. "Overview". Rugby League European Federation. Archived from the original on 2010-08-06. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  2. 1 2 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.
  3. 1 2 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.
  4. 1 2 rugbyleague.com (2010-05-21). "RLEF appoint new development exec". rugbyleague.com. Archived from the original on 2010-08-06. Retrieved 2010-08-06.
  5. ↑ "Sol Mokdad issues public apology to UAE Rugby Federation to end criminal proceedings against him". The National. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
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