The French Rugby League Federation (french: Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII (FFR)) is the governing body for the sport of

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

football in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The Federation was formed during 1934 and since then has organised and governed the

French rugby league championship The French rugby league championship (french: Le Championnat de France de Rugby à XIII) has been the major rugby league tournament for semi-professional and professional clubs in France since the sport was introduced to the country in the 1930s. ...

, the

Lord Derby Cup The French Rugby League Cup (french: Coupe de France de Rugby à XIII), also called Lord Derby Cup (french: Coupe Lord Derby) after its championship trophy, is the premier knockout competition for the sport of rugby league football in France. The ...

and all of the clubs that are contained within those organisations. The FFR also controls the

France national rugby league team The France national rugby league team represent France in international rugby league matches. They are referred to as ''les Chanticleers'' or less commonly as ''les Tricolores''. The team is run under the auspices of the Fédération Française ...

organizing fixtures that they compete in, they also have a major voting position in the

Rugby League International Federation The International Rugby League (IRL) is the global governing body for the sport of rugby league football. Previously known as the ''Rugby League Imperial Board'', the '' International Rugby League Board'' and latterly the ''Rugby League Internat ...

where they help organise many aspects of rugby league worldwide. Following development work by both

Harry Sunderland Harry Sunderland (23 November 1889 – 15 January 1964) was an Australian rugby league football administrator and journalist. Sunderland was born in Gympie, Queensland in 1889. From 1913 to 1922, Sunderland was the Queensland Rugby League's ...

(on behalf of the

Australian Rugby League The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australian Rugby Footbal ...

) and the

Rugby Football League The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England, and until 1995 for the whole British Isles. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisati ...

based in England, the Australian and Great British Test teams played an exhibition game at

Stade Pershing Stade Pershing () was a multi-purpose stadium in the Bois de Vincennes in Paris, France. It was used mostly for football (soccer), football matches and hosted the final of the Coupe de France on four occasions. It hosted the Inter-Allied Games in ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in late December 1933. The French Rugby League was formed on 6 April 1934. The Federation was arguably at its most progressive under the presidency of

Paul Barrière Paul Barrière was born on 8 June 1920 in Espéraza and died on 29 May 2008 in Biarritz, aged 88. He was president of the Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII from 1947 to 1955. Barrière played rugby union for Espéraza in 1936 and Carcasson ...

. Barrière was a driving force in the formation of an International Board for the sport in 1948 and the institution of a

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

in 1954.

References

External links

*
75th Anniversary of French Rugby League article at sportingo.com
Rugby league in France

Rugby League Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

Rugby league governing bodies in Europe Sports organizations established in 1934 {{rugbyLeague-stub

See also

References

External links