A new powerhouse is rising

With the request of affiliation of the Brazilian Confederation of Rugby League accepted by the RLIF, Brasil becomes the second affiliated country of Latin America, after Chile, to have achieved this. So, we asked some questions to know how the sport is in the country:

1) How did the Rugby League begin in Brazil?

It started with interest in the sport starting in 2013, along with the NRL broadcasts, we had a visit from Robert (Latin Heat) in 2015 with a donation of uniforms and a first contact with the rules.

2) And the Confederation?

The Confederation and the practice of sport began only in mid-2018, with the Festival Brasil Rugby League, the largest in the history of the continent, with more than 30 games of 13-a-side, 9-a-side, involving a championship of Brasilian clubs and the South American, with 3 countries involved, men’s, women’s and youth teams, having in this event Brasil, as unbeaten champion in all categories, with the unpublished games for women and youth.

3) How is the sport in the country today?

This year we will have the national championship of 13s, with 8 teams and the feminine with 4. We beat the record of teams registered in Brasil 9s in Rio. We had Coaching and Referee course with an Australian (Paul Grundy) in two states and more than 25 people did, in addition to a selective for the Women’s Team, with more than 60 girls participating, we have the largest grassroots in Latin America.

4) What are you looking for the future?

All the things that depend on us, we do, the national championships, courses, translation of rules to Portuguese and etc. We just need our effort to be recognized and we can have an international calendar with the support of RLIF, so that we can motivate more people to enter the game and have more sponsors.