The Tonga National Rugby League (TNRL) was the governing body for

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 ...

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

. It is based in the capital Nuku'alofa. The TNRL was founded in 1949 and has been a member of 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 ...

(RLIF) since 1974. Along with the governing bodies of Papua New Guinea (

Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League The Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League Inc. is the governing body for rugby league in Papua New Guinea. They are based in the capital Port Moresby. History They were founded in 1949 and have been members of the Rugby League International Fede ...

), Tonga (Tonga National Rugby League), Samoa (

Rugby League Samoa Rugby League Samoa are the governing body for rugby league in Samoa. They are based in the capital Apia, the League has suffered financially due to member leagues not paying affiliation fees. History They were founded in 1949 and have been member ...

), and the Cook Islands (

Cook Islands Rugby League Association The Cook Islands Rugby League Association are the governing body for rugby league in Cook Islands. They are based in the capital Apia, the League has suffered financially due to member leagues not paying affiliation fees.http://www.rlif.com/member ...

), they founded the

Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation The Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation (APRLC) is an umbrella body for nations playing the sport of rugby league football in the Southern Hemisphere. The Confederation aims to act as a counterpart to the Rugby League European Federation. ...

in December 2009.

Suspension and expulsion from IRL

In September 2019 membership of the RLIF was suspended after

Semisi Sika Semisi Kioa Lafu Sika (born 31 January 1968) is a Tongan politician, businessman, and Member of the Tongan Parliament from 2010 to 2021. He served as acting prime minister in September 2019, following the death of ʻAkilisi Pōhiva. He is curre ...

, acting-prime minister of Tonga, wrote to the RLIF to advise that TNRL had lost the confidence of the government, the Tongan rugby league clubs and the country's players. In a statement the RLIF stressed that "the suspension of TNRL is not an expulsion and is intended to provide a period of stability, while the matters raised by the various stakeholders can be properly and fully investigated" although a new body ''Tonga Ma’a Tonga Rugby League'' has been set up by the Tongan Sports Council and the players which is expected to take over running of the national teams. The board of TNRL announced on 27 September 2019 that they would be taking legal action against the Tongan government and Tonga Ma’a Tonga Rugby League and appealing the suspension by the RLIF. In December 2019 an International Rugby League (IRL) report proposed a number of changes to the governance of TNRL which TNR had 30 days to act upon. TNRL responded that the changes were "undemocratic" and "being forced upon them". The IRL board met on 13 February and announced on 17 February that the board had informed TNRL that it is expelled from membership of IRL. As a precedent concerning a Tongan Invitational XIII to play has already been set, it is not considered that the expulsion of TNRL will affect the participation of Tonga's national teams in any competition. On 31 March 2020, the International Rugby League started looking for new applicants to govern Tongan rugby league. TNRL appealed to the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its co ...

but the appeal was dismissed in April 2021 leaving IRL to work with interested parties in Tonga to establish a new governing body.

References

External links

* {{International Rugby League Rugby league in Tonga Rugby league governing bodies in Oceania Sports organizations established in 1949

Suspension and expulsion from IRL

See also

References

External links