Match officials from five nations - Malta, Norway, England, Serbia and Hungary - were represented at the latest Training and Education Portal project held in Budapest.

RLEF Match Official Tutor, Phil Smith, led the activity. “It was excellent to observe match official education given by experienced Serbian referee Rale Novakovic to two new officials from Norway and Malta, as well as strengthening the relationship with host country Hungary,” he said. “Adrian Seglem from Norway and Malta’s Jean Pierre Zarb were active participants and will continue their education through ongoing training over the winter, at the same time sharing their knowledge within their nation.”

Both received their Level 1 Match Official qualification as did Hungarians Zsolt Lukacs and Balint Mezes and Serbian referee Aleksandar Milosovic. All four will now continue their educator training, guided by Novakovic, in their cluster of the TEP.

“The Hungarian Rugby League Federation was proud to act as hosts, we view these sessions as essential in improving our knowledge and helping us to grow the sport in our country,” said HRLF official Lukacs.

The TEP is a three-year, €723.000 investment into capacity building through good governance and technical training, funded by €466.000 from the EU’s Erasmus+ project and the remainder from the RLIF and five of its full members. It is intended to enhance the knowledge and skills of the RLEF’s 21 European members through high quality training and mentoring, while granting opportunities to share experiences amongst fellow Europeans dedicated to rugby league development.