The RLEF has continued to work with members of the Greek rugby league community, running a level 1 match officials course in Athens that saw eight new candidates gain their qualification.

One of them became the country’s first female rugby league match official, Zoe Valassa saying: “The referee course was fascinating and deepened my love for rugby league. I can't wait to now get involved in matches first as a touch judge and help the development of the sport here in any way that I can. “It was a real eye-opener and gave an insight into just how demanding the job of the referee is and I now feel I have a better understanding of the rules. I can't wait for the season to start!”

The RLEF will monitor the situation in Greece as it administers the competition in 2016-17. Four clubs will participate, Rhodes Knights, Attica Rhinos, Patras and Aris Eagles, which will begin in October, while a fifth, Athens Raiders, will work on attracting new players.

In parallel, dialogue will continue with the Greek General Secretariat of Sport to agree a mutually acceptable framework that will ultimately put control of the sport back in the hands of a locally constituted organisation, in line with RLIF regulations.

RLEF MO educator George Stilianos commented, “We plan to run the course again in Rhodes in October and Patras in November. We want to ensure that wherever in Greece a match is played we have capable and qualified match officials there at any given time.”