Rugby league in Lebanon
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| Rugby league in Lebanon | |
|---|---|
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| Governing body | Lebanese Rugby League |
| National team | Lebanon |
| Nickname(s) | the Cedars |
| First played | 2002 |
| Competitions | |
| National | |
| - Rugby League World Cup | |
| Club | |
| - Lebanon Rugby League Championship | |
Rugby league is a team sport that has been played in Lebanon since 2002.
The seeds of rugby league in Lebanon in fact lie in Australia. A group of Australian-born rugby league players with Lebanese heritage, mostly from inner-city Sydney formed a side with a view to entering the 2000 Rugby League World Cup. They were accepted into the qualifying tournament on the agreement that they would aim to develop rugby league within the country they represent. They subsequently went on to win the qualifying competition, earning their place by beating Italy and Morocco of the Mediterranean group before travelling to Florida to defeat the USA, winners of the Pacific group.
In 2002 a domestic league was set up in Lebanon, initially with four university-based teams. Players from the domestic competition now feature in the national side, and a side composed entirely from Lebanese domestic players, known as Lebanon Espoirs has been formed.
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[edit] Governing body and competitions
The Lebanese Rugby League has moved from its original headquarters in Sydney, and is now based in Biakout in Lebanon. They are associate members of the Rugby League European Federation. They run a domestic competition comprising five clubs, who play in two seasons a year - spring and winter. There is hope that the competition will expnd with the introduction of 2 or 3 more clubs by 2010 based in Tripoli and 2 other cities, spreading the game out from the capital and into big regional towns so that the game can become more popular across the country.
[edit] Media
Media representation of rugby league has grown dramatically in the past few years with the domestic competition now covered by all ten marquee Lebanese newspapers, two prominent radio stations and the country’s major television stations. [1]
Lebanese rugby league is often featured on the Qatar-based Al Jazeera network. In 2007 the first ever game report featured on a game in Lebanon was televised on Al Jazeera.
[edit] The National Team
The full Lebanon side, nicknamed the Cedars, remains mostly composed of players of Lebanese ancestry from Australia. The Lebanon Espoirs team, made up of younger players from the domestic competition, has played a number of fixtures - this side has competed annually in the Rugby League Mediterranean Cup, which is hosted in Lebanon. Many of the Espoirs players have gone into represent Lebanon in full international matches. The Cedars have been largely successful in international competition - they were unbeaten in 12 tests between 2000 and 2007, a record which included two draws against Ireland. This winning steak ended with a 38-16 loss to Samoa in the final game of their 2008 Rugby League World Cup qualification campaign.
[edit] Bank of Beirut Lebanon Championship
There are five teams that play in the Bank of Beirut Lebanon Championship domestic league.
| Name | Location | Full Name |
|---|---|---|
| AUB Wolves | Beirut | American University Of Beirut Wolves Rugby League Football Club |
| Jounieh Al-Galacticos | Jounieh | Jounieh Al-Galacticos Rugby League Football Club |
| LAU Immortals | Beirut | Lebanese American University Immortals Rugby League Football Club |
| USJ Saints | Beirut | Université Saint-Joseph Saints Rugby League Football Club |
| Balamand Razorbacks | Koura | Balamand Razorbacks Rugby League Football Club |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official website of the Lebanese Rugby League
- Al Jazeera special on Lebanese rugby league (on youtube)
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