The latest partnership to help support a developing African nation has been signed, with York RLFC linking up with Uganda.

The Minster City club will provide financial and material resources to help further rugby league in Uganda, with Valkyrie women’s head coach Lindsey Anfield overseeing the development of players and coaches. The agreement will see the establishment of the York-RLU academy in Uganda to establish the introduction of a formal player pathway for U16s upwards for male and female youngsters.

“We are delighted to launch this partnership supporting the development of rugby league in Uganda,” said Anfield. “There is already great work going on and we look forward to continuing to raise the profile of the sport across the country as well as contributing to the success of their national team.

“We will be observing and supporting the player development programmes in Uganda and upskilling coaches through face-to-face and online mentoring and education. We will do this alongside supporting their club championship programme which will feed into the national academy.”

Anfield added: “The hope is we will see Ugandan players representing the Knights and the Valkyrie at some point in the future, we look forward to close collaboration with their performance staff, along with our club identity being embedded across the nation.”

Geno Daniel, president of Rugby League Uganda, said: “I'm thrilled that York are going to become a part of the Rugby League Uganda family where they will offer a unique talent identification, development, and education programme for our players. Our partnership highlights the federation's capacity to draw prestigious sports companies and brands from around the globe to work with us.”