International calendar tops the agenda at RLIF meeting

International calendar tops the agenda at RLIF Board meeting

The Rugby League International Federation Board met in Brisbane on 1 May and made significant progress towards the International Calendar for the eight year period post 2017 .

The CEO of the RLIF , David Collier OBE , made a presentation following discussions with Members and Stakeholders on the Strategic Priorities for the sport and welcomed the expansion of Rugby League to 41 affiliated National Federations .

The Hosts of the 2017 World Cup reported on progress and the qualification process for the flagship event in the Rugby League calendar . The Board approved a proposal to host the Womens World Cup in parallel with the Mens World Cup .

In order to support National Federations and to share the strategic direction for the International Federation a Conference has been added to the AGM to be held in Paris from 4-6 November 2015 .

The success of the World Club Series was welcomed by the Board and it was noted that the Series is now intended to become an annual event . The success of the Pacific Double Header held in the Gold Coast further reinforced the international expansion of Rugby League .

The Chief Executive will bring back detailed proposals to the Board for a second International Global Event in a 4 year cycle at the scheduled July Board meeting in addition to proposals for the structure of the 2021 World Cup . A key objective of these proposals will be to underpin the development funding for the international expansion of the sport .

The RLIF Laws Committee , in support of bi-lateral discussions between Australia and England , will be tasked with maintaining a single set of Laws for the game with innovation being encouraged to further enhance the sport through regulations proposed in National competitions .

The Chairman of the RLIF Nigel Wood commented :

' RLIF has made great progress during the past year and the appointment of David Collier OBE as CEO has provided further impetus to the support and development of our National Federations . The positive report concerning the progress of the hosting arrangements for the 2017 World Cup gives us the confidence that this will be the best World Cup ever staged by Rugby League . Importantly we made great progress on the development of the International Calendar which received unanimous support from all Members of the Board . We now look forward to receiving the Chief Executive's detailed proposals at our July meeting following his consultation with Members . '

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