The Jamaican Rugby League Association has received recognition from the Sports Development Foundation and with it a fixed monthly administrative grant.

Chairman Ventley Brown, who led the negotiations with the SDF, was jubilant after receiving the news. “The Board members of the JRLA are delighted about the gaining this financial and professional recognition,” he said. “We will now continue to work in getting the Association fully endorsed and recognized by the Jamaica Olympic Association."

Rugby league in Jamaica has witnessed encouraging growth in the last 12-months, especially in the burgeoning youth ranks, with activity beginning in the west of the country, around Montego Bay. Twelve high schools now play at under-16 and under-19, with a full under-12 programme launched earlier this year. Five of the country’s premier universities and seven community clubs play senior championships, growth that has been acknowledged by the Jamaican authorities.

"We are thrilled to receive backing through the SDF,” said JRLA Director of Rugby Romeo Monteith, who continued, “this will greatly assist us in pushing the game towards mainstream recognition in Jamaica; the hard work continues and we encourage corporate Jamaica to come on board as well."

Fixed funding will allow the JRLA to assume some of the championship’s costs, thereby alleviating the strain on some of the clubs which hail from less affluent areas and encouraging further growth