BY JOHN DAVIDSON
Exclusive:Â Former Central and Eastern European regional director Jovan Vujosevic has opened up about his sudden departure from European Rugby League (ERL) and taken aim at the running of the sport globally.
Vujosevic was retrenched by the ERL at the end of last year. The Serbian has worked to grow and develop rugby league across Europe since 2007.
The popular figure, who has also previously served as a youth coach and a national team player for his country, has toiled tirelessly as a missionary for the sport across the continent for nearly two decades, including at the last World Cup in the UK.
But he has been left stunned and angry with his retrenchment by the financially struggling ERL.
“It was a very big shock for me, especially when you’ve worked more than 17 years and I was delivering a lot,” Vujosevic told rugbyleagyehub.com Long Reads.
“I was travelling around Europe to develop this sport. We did a lot of good things. The ERL fired me, not because I wasn’t working and I wasn’t delivering, they did it because of a lack of money.
“But I think it was very unprofessional from the board of the ERL and the superiors. In 2024 they never said to me that I could face that situation, and they knew it.
“They could have said at the start of 2024 Jovan we have a problematic situation, and then I would have tried to do something. I would have had a plan A, plan B, plan C.
“In 2024 I delivered the European Under-19 competition in Serbia and I provided a 20,000 Euro grant for referees, balls, airplane tickets and other things for the competition, and for coach education in Serbia.
“I worked for peanuts, and I worked various other jobs to stay in the sport that I love.
“I’m the longest-serving employee of the ERL. 2007 I came on board. And nobody said a word, nobody wrote me a word [after I was retrenched]. I had contact from different countries in Europe, from different people. They were all shocked.
“For me, it wasn’t always about money. If I’m working for £18,000 pound a year, before tax, then it’s peanuts. The things that hurt are the way it was done and the treatment.
“All this policy about diversity and integrity, blah blah blah, it;s just words on paper. It feels like someone urinated on me. That’s how they treated me. I wrote to them and say I feel like a condom – you used me and threw me away.”
Vujosevic claims he was given only two months’ notice, had no redundancy and was employed as a consultant with no fixed contract.
“It was totally immoral,” he said.
“How they think that somebody would work for them in the future.
“I love this sport. But I am proud because I can look people in the eye but some other people wouldn’t, they would look away, because this was done in a very bad manner.”
In November the Turkish Rugby League Association posted on Facebook about Vujosevic’s departure. It in they described him as “the heart and soul of Balkan Rugby League, embodying passion, drive and an unwavering commitment to the sport.
“Through his tireless efforts, Jovan has breathed life into Rugby League across the Balkans & the rest of Europe. His vision and determination have not only brought the game to the region but have also inspire countless players, teams and fans to embrace the spirit of Rugby League.”
Rugby league across Europe is struggling with dwindling participation, cost-cutting and a lack of money to encourage development. The state of play has been reported by this platform here.
“Behind the curtain, international rugby league is not doing well. Some people think they are above the game,” Vujosevic said.
“The ERL has nothing to sell. We can’t make something like a Six Nations. But we can start with something small that would not generate millions of pounds or Euros, but something small that can generate 50 thousand Euros, 20 thousand Euros.
“The other problem is that ERL is since 2020 it is unable to apply for the European Commission for sports Erasmus+ program, because of Brexit. Because its head office is in the UK.
“The biggest money in history the ERL got was the Erasmus grant, more than a half million Euros for match officials and coach education.
“The ERL are saying everything is nice, everything is superb, we are delivering – but things are being pushed under the carpet. No one wants to mention that the last World Cup was not successful. Why don’t they say that publicly?
“The people who are leading the game are not successful. Where is the responsibility of the people who delivered the 2022 World Cup? Where is the responsibility of the people who organised France 2025, which was cancelled?”.
Vujosevic believes getting official recognition and access to government funding in each European country is key for the sport to thrive across the continent.
He feels the 2032 Brisbane Olympics is potentially a great opportunity if rugby league can get involved.
“We can’t make a fake reality about our sport,” he admitted.
“Our sport is in a very, very hard position, especially in Europe. Not in England and France, but in the rest of Europe it’s in danger. We need to be aware that only eight or nine countries are recognised by their governments.
“And of that nine not many have access to government funding. That is terrible, because we need to do more. I think what American football did with flag football will be a huge game-changer in some European countries because it will get access to government funding.”
Flag football is a non-contact variant of American gridiron, back by the NFL, and will make its debut in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
“80% to 90% of European countries pump government funding only into Olympic sports. Only in the UK it is different. The whole story about rugby union getting into the Olympics is because they realised the most secure funding is government money.
“It is the same with the NRL going to PNG and getting Australian government funding. Rugby union were smart, they lobbied Jacques Rogge [former International Olympic Committee president], a former Belgian national team player, and they got rugby sevens into the Olympics.
“We need to realise that 13-a-side rugby league, 15-a-side rugby union in a full format will never be Olympics sports because of the recovery time, because the Olympics Games are very short.
“But disciplines like Sevens, Nines, they can be used to get into the Olympics. And when they are in, straight away governments will pump more money into the sport.
“Brisbane 2032 is a unique opportunity because in Australia there are very powerful and successful people running rugby league, they are influential and it can be a game-changer.
“Brisbane is in the heartland of rugby league, we have an Olympic Games in Australia, which is leading the sport. It’s a global opportunity for our sport. I hope the people who are running our sport will realise that.”
Despite leaving his post at the ERL, Vujosevic is keen to remain working in rugby league.
“I want to stay in the game,” he said.
“I’m 46 years old and I have a lot of experience working in a multicultural environment. I brought rugby league to many different countries – Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Bosnia.
“I developed most of the things now in Serbia. I also assisted with the game in Turkey and in Albania, and developed the link in the Ukraine. I found the guy in Slovakia to help start the game there.
“I still think I have something to give to this sport. I love it. Rugby league is a great sport.”
Both the ERL and International Rugby League (IRL) have been approached for comment.
Danny Kazandjian, secretary general of the IRL, said Vujosevic’s departure was a matter for the ERL but said he “wished him well”.
