A training course in Hattingen, Germany, has resulted in two host and two Irish Level 1 match official educators and six new referee’s qualified, as part of the EU-backed Training and Education Portal project.

Max and Bob Doughton from Nationaler Rugby League Deutschland, and James Spencer and Paul Causby from Rugby League Ireland, are now authorised to deliver Level 1 MO courses, increasing the capacity of their national organisations. In a continuing sign of the RLEF’s flexibility in technical delivery, the four-day activity was led by Wales RL’s Steve Allen and RLI’s head of match officials, Steve Hogan.

"To see the course delivered in German and the students so keen to learn was superb,” said Hogan. “The volume of questions demonstrated their desire to grasp as much knowledge as they could. All the new instructors demonstrated their passion to deliver the course in a professional yet relaxed manner.  An additional bonus was that we got to see children of all ages and of both genders actively training and genuinely enjoying rugby league.”

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, divided into six regional clusters, through high quality training and mentoring, while granting opportunities to share experiences amongst fellow Europeans dedicated to rugby league development.