South African Rugby League

South African Rugby League
South African Rugby League logo
Founded19 August 1998
IRL affiliation1998
MEA and APRL affiliation2012 and 2016 respectively
ResponsibilitySouth Africa
Websitesarugbyleague.co.za
South Africa

The South African Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in South Africa. The Association was formed in 1998.[1][2]

In 2011, South African Rugby League instituted a new constitution which saw the countries first national league since the apartheid bad – the Rhino Cup.[3] A year later, South Africa bid to host the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.[4][5] They lost out to a joint bid from Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea, though received formal praise for the country's development of the sport, particularly for the growth of their domestic game.[6]

In 2024, South Africa Rugby League bid to host the 2028 Women's and 2030 Men's Rugby League World Cup.[7] The body estimated a R4 billion boost to the South African economy by hosting the 2030 event.[8]

  1. ^ "RLEF". Archived from the original on 5 November 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  2. ^ "South Africa - Asia Pacific Rugby League Confederation".
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference IRL profile was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "South Africa to face joint bid from Australia and New Zealand to host 2017 Rugby League World Cup". insidethegames.biz. 21 October 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  5. ^ "South Africa's shock bid to host World Cup". dailytelegraph.com.au. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  6. ^ Australia-NZ Rugby League World Cup bid progresses Archived 20 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine 3News, 21 October 2013
  7. ^ "Kenya, South Africa, USA in running for 2030 Rugby League World Cup". 31 July 2024.
  8. ^ "World Cup bids set to change trajectory of game in South Africa".