Sweden Rugby League has hosted a landmark match officials development course in Jönköping, central Sweden, as part of the RLEF-EU Leadership Devolution Project.

The RLEF’s Paul Stockman oversaw the four-day tutor-training camp, which was attended by cluster colleagues Petr Sedina and Matt Smith (Czech RLA) and Anthony Micallef (Malta RL) and led by Sweden RL’s Rajendra Shah and Paris Ghavidel-Asgari. All of the participants attended the very first activity in the LDP, the Czech Rugby League Association’s match official camp in March 2014.

Shah, now part of a 10-strong Swedish refereeing corps, said, “It was great to be given the opportunity by the RLEF to host the course here in Sweden as it gives us a head start for our season. With the addition of more clubs this year we needed more accredited referees which we now have.”

Anthony Micallef added, “Having been involved in European rugby league for the past decade, the course in Jönköping was a great example of the development happening across the Continent. Swedish officials hosting and delivering a European-wide, recognised course, with guest involvement from the UK, Czech Republic and Malta in what is a new territory even for the Swedish federation, is something that would have been unimaginable until recently.”