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Rugby league in Lebanon
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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.
Governing body and competitionsThe 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.
MediaMedia 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.
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.
The National TeamThere are in fact two Lebanese teams. The full Lebanon side remains dominated by players of Lebanese ancestry from Australia - this side has competed annually in the Rugby League Mediterranean Cup, which is hosted in Lebanon. The Lebanon Espoirs team, made up of players from the domestic competition, has played a number of fixtures, including a tour of Great Britain in 2005.
Bank of Beirut Lebanon ChampionshipThere are five teams that play in the Bank of Beirut Lebanon Championship domestic league.
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