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 ...

was introduced to

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

following the addition of the

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

-based

Catalans Dragons The Catalans Dragons ( French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. The team competes in the Super League and are the only team from ...

to the professional

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

in 2006. An amateur rugby league competition was formed in 2008 and ran for three seasons under the administration of the

Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga The Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga (ACRL) (Catalan Rugby League Association) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Catalonia. The Association was formed in 2007 and since then has organized and governed the Catalan competition ...

. Rugby league in Spain has been administered by the

Spanish Rugby League Association The Spanish Rugby League Association ( es, Asociación Española de Rugby League, AERL) also known as España Rugby League, is the governing body of rugby league in Spain. The body was officially founded in 2013 and has held affiliate-level mem ...

since 2013.

History

Rugby league started in Catalonia in autumn 2007, with the advice of people from the French Catalan region, where this sport has been played since the 1930s. The number of clubs has been growing since 3 clubs participated in the first competition to reach 9 teams in the first Catalonia Championships in April 2009. The Catalan representative side made their debut in January 2008, when they participated in the French Interleague Championship held near Perpignan, in France.

Governing body

The governing body for rugby league in Catalonia was the

, being an unranked member of the

Rugby League European Federation The European Rugby League (ERL) is the umbrella body for nations playing the sport of rugby league football across Europe. In the absence of other continental federations, ERL also controls rugby league in North America (including Central America ...

with Official observer status since 2008.

Competitions

The first Catalan competition, the Catalonia Cup, took place in April 2008 with 3 teams: FC Barcelona, Aligots de Girona and Nord-Català. The winners were FC Barcelona. The results from the competition were: * FC Barcelona 22-20 Aligots Girona * Aligots Girona 24-0 Nord-Català * Nord-Català 4-24 FC Barcelona In February 2009 the first Catalan university rugby league championship took place, with seven universities teams participating: Perpinyà, Ramon Llull, Girona, Autònoma de Barcelona, Vic, Politècnica de Catalunya and Pompeu Fabra. Universitat de Perpinyà were the winners. In Spring 2009 was played the first

Catalan Rugby League Championship The Catalan Rugby League Championship ( ca, Campionat de Catalunya de Rugby Lliga) is the rugby league competition for clubs in Catalonia, promoted by the Catalan Rugby League Association (ACRL) and played since 2009. 2010 Catalan Rugby League C ...

, with nine teams in competition: Barcelona Universitari Club, Club de Rugby Sant Cugat, CE INEF Lleida, GEIEG, Club Natació Poble Nou - Enginyers, Club de Rugby Tarragona, Garrotxa Rugbi Club, Club Atlètic Vic - Crancs and Club Rugby Valls. Barcelona Universitari Club were the champions.

National team

Catalonia national rugby league team 2009

The

Catalonia national rugby league team The Catalonia national rugby league team represents Catalonia in the sport of rugby league football, running under the auspices of the Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga. History Rugby league started in Catalonia in autumn 2007, with the advic ...

played their first full international losing to

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

in a game played prior to the

Warrington Wolves The Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England, that competes in the Super League. They play rugby at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2004. Founded as Warrington Z ...

, on June 21, 2008. In June 2009, Catalonia beat the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

in a match played prior to the

game, this time played in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. This match was an international warm-up ahead of the Euro Med Challenge contested by Catalonia,

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. They lost 6-29 at home to Morocco and 28-22 at Belgium.http://www.rugbylliga.cat/noticia/derrota-per-la-minima-contra-belgica-137

References

External links