The European Rugby League board of directors has met in person for the first time since its enlargement, with new chair Dean Andrew OBE and independent director Tariana Doncaster present.
Among the agenda, the board discussed the proposed International Rugby League calendar and prepared feedback, having heard about the progress that has been made with the qualifying tournaments for RLWC2025 in France.
Updates were also received on the planned competitions for 2022, and a tender document approved for the 2023 European Wheelchair Rugby League Championships, which will shortly be released to members.
MEA director Remond Safi presented a paper on the progress being made to establish the Middle East Africa and the Americas regions as Confederations in their own right, and a first-hand report of the recent technical education event that successfully took place in Kenya.
The results of the annual membership audit were presented and discussed, and the board heard of the progress being made to engage with members who have corrective action plans in place to be compliant in future years.
The 2021 Annual Accounts were approved to go to the membership, and the 2021 Annual Report was also approved. The board also approved the nomination of John Kear as the ERL’s representative on the IRL Laws Advisory Panel, and agreed the nominations of general manager David Butler (ERL Representative) and player Lewis King to the IRL Wheelchair Laws Advisory Panel.
The board also received a progress update on implementing the changes to operational practice which were outlined in the 2021 governance review, and approved a board diversity policy.
“It was a very interesting first meeting for me” noted Andrew, who assumed the chair at the conclusion of it. “The volume of work the organisation undertakes is impressive and the level of detail that is provided has been very useful coming into the organisation. I would like to thank Graeme Thompson for his service as interim chair and highlight the contribution he continues to make to European Rugby League, together with assisting with a very smooth transition.”