International Rugby League publishes Annual Report 2021
The 2021 International Rugby League (IRL) Annual Report has been published and it shows that, whilst there were continued difficulties created by the global pandemic plus the postponement of the flagship Rugby League World Cup, there was still progress made on several fronts.
The highlights of the report include the return to international fixtures for several countries, primarily in the Northern Hemisphere across men’s, women’s and wheelchair disciplines.
In addition, membership of the federation continued to grow and develop with new members welcomed from El Salvador, Philippines, Japan and Montenegro in addition to African countries Cameroon and Morocco elevating their membership from observer to affiliate status.
IRL has continued to develop its capacity to support the membership and operations through its expert working groups and panels. The Match Officials Manager created three squads, Emerging, International and Elite, to ensure that officials have a clear pathway and that international games are officiated by the most appropriate and experienced people from as broad a spectrum of nations than ever before in rugby league history. Every senior international match in 2021 was officiated by an IRL appointed official and every game was reviewed by the IRL Judiciary Panel.
In commending the Annual Report to members and the wider world, secretary general Danny Kazandjian said, “I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to another good year for international rugby league in the most trying of circumstances. We will emerge from this difficult period much stronger. We have much to look back on and be proud of and even more to look forward to.
“In the past year we have continued to support members, grow our own capacity, develop strong policies and practice and attract a superb host for the IRL World Cup in France2025.
RLWC2021 will be the highlight of this year and we all look forward to that being the springboard for further growth based upon the solid foundations which were further developed in 2021 thanks to members, staff, partners and volunteers around the world.”
Read the full report here.
