European Rugby League set to relocate

At its recent board meeting, European Rugby League looked to progress a project, approved at the 2024 Annual Council Meeting, to identify a suitable location within the European Union to relocate the company to, with a view to being able to re-engage with EU funding schemes.

Such grants have previously seen ERL in receipt of over €1m to support technical education across the continent. Experienced rugby league administrator Niel Wood is leading the project, and it is planned to present options at the 2025 Annual Council Meeting for Members to approve.

“There is progress on all fronts and some exciting projects are coming to life,” noted ERL chair Dean Andrew. “There is a lot of positivity coming from our membership with some exciting developments taking place and I would like to thank them for their commitment and perseverance.”

The meeting was the first co-ordinated by new ERL secretary Berenice Flores who will work for the organisation for an average of one day per week on a fixed term contract for the next 12 months.

New European Rugby League secretary Berenice Flores

She will combine her role with an administrative one at the Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII, where she works full time.

A fluent French, Spanish and English speaker, Berenice will provide administrative support to the board and manage front line enquiries at berenice.flores@europeanrugbyleague.com, while steps are also in hand to recruit a commercial lead for the organisation to support the recently announced programme of competitions.

The host for the 2026 European Rugby League U19s Championship was also approved and subject to a hosting agreement being signed, further details will be released shortly which will give competitors over 14 months to prepare for the event which will take place in July 2026. It has previously been staged in Serbia and Italy.

The board also received an update on finance and a review of its insurances, supporting the continuation of its personal accident insurance policy which covers all ERL members’ national team activity for the most serious of injuries to players and staff during both games and travelling to and from training.