Sounds like an electric competition to me. But honestly, how many of the UAE players are English or Australian expats?

But why no Moroccan League? So many French players could qualify for Morocco, most notably prop Jamal Fakir, and the Avignon based Khattabi brothers, who would provide a centre and a prop. In fact once you have assembled a competent spine, the rest of the Moroccan team could be put together quite easily.

Hong Kong RL also launched this week

Union did it by invading the world on the back of the British Empire, League will do it by distributing anzac bar staff to exotic destinations


Dubai and Hong Kong are a lot of things, but 'ripe for league' ain't one of them. They are bursting with ex-pat public school types who would roll up for the opening of a Rugby Union Envelope. The 7's is king in both places.
The preoccupation with pub teams as expansion when the game is in danger of further contraction at its only 2 homes is worrying.

I started following the International game after the 2000 world cup, and at that time the game was only played in 5 countries - Aus, NZ, UK, France and PNG - and now it is genuinely played in over 30 countries, and some like USA, Lebanon, Serbia and Fiji have thriving comps.
All this with virtually zero money being spent on the game apart from a few development officers being employed.

I started following the International game after the 2000 world cup, and at that time the game was only played in 5 countries - Aus, NZ, UK, France and PNG - and now it is genuinely played in over 30 countries, and some like USA, Lebanon, Serbia and Fiji have thriving comps.
All this with virtually zero money being spent on the game apart from a few development officers being employed.

It's no wonder people get annoyed by you Gutters.

It was a quick post to inform those that are interested that RL is being played in the UAE. I imagine the 'taking off globally' was tongue in cheek. And a further post mentioning Hong Kong.

And off you go again, bringing up RU and trying to take the thread off topic with a sensationalist line on RL contracting in England & Australia. Top trolling - well done you.

Agreed Eerlee Berd. One or two posters seem intent on bringing their warped or blinkered view to bear on every thread.

Roopy's contribution is factually correct which to me reflects an amazing development of RL around the world at grass roots level made to happen by enthusiastic hard-working and pioneerng people of many nationalities.

Guttersnipe is a stingy English pensioner living off the fat of rugby union mad New Zealand. He is trolling in order to suck up to his neighbours who bring him cheap milk, butter, cheese and lamb to consume on his generous British pension.

Nz Milk butter cheese and lamb are more expensive here
Than in the UK, I hold an Irish passport and alas, I am not yet of pensionable age. As for trolling, I believe I wasn't the first to raise the spectre of Anzac expats being behind this "expansion"........so all in all, a post up to your usual standards my pseudo French Internet buddy

As long as people are playing the game of Rugby League does it matter where?

From big oaks do mighty crashes come

Jumpers for goalpost stuff is brilliant, but meanwhile, the game in the UK is up to its elbows in debt and struggling to attract either sponsors cash or media attention. Pub teams from around the world really isn't going to change that.

I see that the GAA are holding a Gaelic Football 'WORLD CUP" in Abu Dhabi next year and given they already have teams that compete in their domestic comp from London and New York, maybe they can claim to be planting for the future too


[urlhttp://www.joe.ie/sport/screw-you-sepp-were-setting-up-a-gaa-world-cup/29317[/url

Take this thread for what it is, a good news, albeit it quite insignificant in the grand scheme of things, story.

Derailing it into having a pop at RL in the UK and a load of claptrap about GAA is exactly why nobody takes your guf seriously.

My guf?
It's an expat pub side.
Claptrap and the GAA is interesting given the GAA generates more revenue and viewers in the NH than RL

Gutters trolling a thread with more Union drivel, who'd haven predicted it?

Singapore RL also launched last year, RL is slowly starting up in Asia which is great to see.
Any true RL fan celebrates RL being played at any level and to see new countries being exposed to our amazing game is very positive. You can't grow a crop without preparing the soil and planting seeds.

accuracy is everything

We do really need to get into rich and first world countries a lot more.
PNG has more genuine fans of the game than any other country, but because they are a very poor, third world country, it does us no good.
On the other hand, there are maybe a few thousand fans in the USA and Italy, and already they generate enough income to fund regular internationals without the RLIF needing to chip in anything.
Having the game played in the UAE and Hong Kong is a good thing, because those countries have money.
The Pacific Islands produce lots of players and good teams, but no money for the game.

Quite.

The OP wasn't saying that UAE were entering the super league, or that anyone should bung huge cash at the Persian Gulf, or claiming this was a rival to soccer, or bemoaning a lack of media coverage. He merely pointed out that there's some RL being played in an unlikely place.

Then in came Cassandra to rain on something that wasn't even a parade.

Pure trolling/lack-of-self-awareness/self-importance.

Daft.

And that has what to do with the founding of a domestic RL league in the UAE?

Why do you waste your time trolling? Surely you have better things to do?

Good news & the more people who get a chance to play & experiance our game the better. I dont expect many of the newer countries to make much diferance to the top pro game in my or my childrens life time but even if it is just a social gathering of union lads trying the game out who cares? A lot will find it easier to understand & play without a lot of coaching & who knows once we get the numbers over a critical point then the TV audiance for the NRL, super league & internationals could grow.

Can't gutterfax just be banned for being terminally boring?

No he cannot be: a PUB side in the UAE : say no more.
I assume (he said "pub"icon_wink.gif that all games will be in Dubai only. And they're bars. And for tourists.

He's Irish you know. They kick up a bit of a fuss when the English try to put them down.

On the other hand most Irish people I know aren't as boring as him, so maybe a precedent could be set in his case, that he could be banned for bringing the great Irish nation into disrepute by being incredibly boring.

I have no doubt the most intelligent part of you was left as a stain on the matress

RL has actually been played in UAE for several years, although up until last year they only played occasional international matches or one-off fixtures. I believe former Leeds and Huddersfield player Wayne McDonald was involved at one stage and former London Broncos player Ben Bolger captains one of the domestic teams.

They aren't particularly organized compared to many other nations which is why they don't have any official international recognition yet, they always seemed more interested in playing international matches and entering the World Cup than actual domestic progress but I guess that's just the nature of the sport in UAE.

Most of you people would be amazed if you knew what goes on in various countries, the first organized RL matches were played in Ethiopia last week.