The RLEF continues to work closely with the Greek rugby league community, running a Level 1 match official course in Athens, led by educator George Stilianos.

Five locals attended including Grigoris Koutsimpogiorgos, who has been earmarked as a referee of great potential. The 24-year-old, who took up the whistle two years ago before undertaking his mandatory national service in the army, has re-joined Greece’s refereeing ranks, taking charge of the recent clash between Rhodes and Attica Rhinos.

“It was a great experience to learn from the experienced referees and increase my knowledge,” said Koutsimpogiorgos. “I can now use these skills in matches and am looking forward to continue refereeing and attending further courses.”

Lead Spanish match officials Tony Palacios and Andrew Pilkington also attended the five-day activity which is part of the RLEF’s EU-funded Training and Education Portal project. They were joined by Italy’s Guido Bonatti, a member of the RLEF development squad, and lead RLEF tutor Phil Smith.

“The Greek candidates were impressive and it was good to see two of them officiate alongside George in a genuine, competitive fixture in the heart of Athens,” said Smith. “Their passion for the development of the sport in their country was clearly evident.”

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 build 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.