Africa
Rugby league is a growing sport in Africa, with the game first introduced to the continent in the early 1960s. The vast distance of teams from the game's heartlands has at times affected the development of the sport but new advances in the 21st century have seen a major increase in the number of internationals scheduled. Many high calibre players from the continent have progressed to the top club leagues, including Younes Khattabi, Jamal Fakir, Tom van Vollenhoven, Fred Griffiths and Jarrod Saffy. The large ex-patriate Moroccan population in the south of France has resulted in a growing interchange of players between the two countries.
Countries that meet current World Cup qualification criteria:
| Country | Overview | National team | Status | Governing Body | Main league competition(s) | Best International Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | Rugby league in Morocco | Maroc | Affiliate | Maroc Rugby League | Maroc University League | Euro Med Challenge - Champion |
| South Africa | Rugby league in South Africa | The Rhinos | Test | South African Rugby League | Tom van Vollenhoven Cup | World Cup - Pool Round |
Other countries with a history of the game:
| Country | Overview | National team | Status | Governing Body | Main league competition(s) | Best International Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | Rugby league in Nigeria | Greens | Non-Affiliate | N/A | N/A | Middlesex 9's |
Read more about this topic: Rugby League Around The World
Famous quotes containing the word africa:
““I’ll love you dear, I’ll love you
Till China and Africa meet,
And the river jumps over the mountain
And the salmon sing in the street.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)
“There has never been in history another such culture as the Western civilization M a culture which has practiced the belief that the physical and social environment of man is subject to rational manipulation and that history is subject to the will and action of man; whereas central to the traditional cultures of the rivals of Western civilization, those of Africa and Asia, is a belief that it is environment that dominates man.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)
“I know no East or West, North or South, when it comes to my class fighting the battle for justice. If it is my fortune to live to see the industrial chain broken from every workingman’s child in America, and if then there is one black child in Africa in bondage, there shall I go.”
—Mother Jones (1830–1930)