In addition, the first continental Level 2 coaching course has been completed in Vrchlabi, Czech Republic. Held at the brand new football stadium in the town, the course was led by Czech educator David Lahr, who was supported by Svenska Rugby League Forening colleague Ashley Brown and RLEF Coaching Manager Martin Crick.

“It was a very successful four-day course that saw four coaches work with players from the Vrchlabi Mad Squirrels,” said Crick. “I was hugely impressed with the ability and endeavour of both coaches and educators, and feel sure that playing levels in the Czech Republic will improve considerably as a result.”

The attending coaches will now be responsible for completing a series of professional development tasks before receiving their L2 qualification, while Crick moves onto Belgrade to conduct a similar course for Serbian, Maltese and Norwegian delegates.

Brown added: “It was great to see technical and knowledgeable coaches from all over the Czech Republic improve their coaching skills. I’m confident both the Czech Republic and Sweden will benefit from the course. A big thanks to the Mad Squirrels for donating their time, and to the town of Vrchlabi for providing the awesome facilities.”

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.

Pictured: Czech coach educator David Lahr oversees a session in Vrchlabi.