A two-man RLEF delegation represented European rugby league at the annual EU Sports Forum, held in the seat of the EU presidency, Lithuania. The forum was used by the European Commission’s Sport Unit and affiliated agencies to announce details of the first seven-year funding cycle of the new Sports Chapter, from 2014-2020, under Erasmus +, the €16bn framework for education, training, youth and sport.

Full details of the available sporting budget will be publicised in late November or early December but the funding available for European sporting projects will significantly increase. RLEF General Manager Danny Kazandjian and Central and Eastern Europe Director Jovan Vujosevic represented the RLEF at the two-day conference in Vilnius.

“It is incredibly important for the RLEF to engage fully with the EC Sport Unit as our fundamental sporting priorities are similar and the EU provides wonderful opportunities for us to further the part rugby league can play in European citizens’ lives,” said Kazandjian.

The RLEF presented its findings of the 2011-13 Governance Foundation Project in one of the workshops, an 11-member project part-funded by the EC, as well as manning a stand in the forum exhibition hall.

Kazandjian and Vujosevic also held meetings with government officials from the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Belgium to investigate the necessary steps for official accreditation in those countries.

Pictured: Commissioner Vassiliou visits the rugby league stand at the EU Sports Forum.