By STEVE MASCORD
RUGBY League has officially launched in Albania.
Local enthusiast Arnaldo Telo is the man behind the fledgling league, which will host its first domestic game later this month.
Telo tells Far & Wide: “The Serbian Federation send us an invitation for the RLEF congress.
So we accepted and they asked us to try rugby league.
“We have only two teams – Klubi Regbisë Tirana and Klubi Regbisë Iliret – and we are playing with other Balkans teams so for us is big opportunity.
“Our trainer/player is from England. His name is Adam Vernon, a semi-pro rugby league player. He lives and works in Albania.
“He joined Klubi Regbisë Tirana, the first rugby team in Albania, and he becomes the captain and our coach.
“Everything was difficult for us to continue to play union, no support. We think rugby league will be something new and with the help from (the Serbians) and the RLEF we think we can achieve something good to develop rugby in Albania.”
Welcome. Follow their efforts at facebook.com/AlbaniaRL and @AlbaniaRL
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IF you’re in Sydney, there’s a full day of international rugby league at Hillier Oval, Liverpool on Saturday.
El Salvador take on Uruguay, Chile play Thailand with under age curtain-raisers and tag rugby league. The action starts at 1pm. These games take the place of th Emerging Nations World Cup which was kyboshed by RLWC2017.
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ELSEWHERE, the United States took out the Americas Championship with a big win over Canada, 36-18, last weekend in Toronto.
The Rugby League European Federation is again working on a three-tier structure for internationals and wants to extend age group competitions.
An English-based player, Cheryl Armitage, is part of the Canada Ravens train-on squad for the Women’s World Cup.
