Founded 2013 Responsibility Spain | RLEF affiliation (Associate Member) Website spaniel.com | |
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Formerly named Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga | ||
The Asociación Española de Rugby League was founded in 2013 to govern rugby league in Spain after Catalonia Rugby League was denied entry to the RLEF. In late 2013 the Asociación Española de Rugby League was awarded associate membership to the RLEF.
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Spanish national team
The first rugby league in Spain was played in the region of Catalonia in 2009, with a Catalonia national rugby league team playing several matches against European nations. However, desiring to represent only Catalonia and not the entirety of Spain, the Catalonia team was denied RLEF membership and disappeared from international competition shortly afterwards.
Rugby league in Spain began once again in 2013, with a national body (Asociación Española de Rugby League) being formed and admitted to the RLEF by the end of that year. The first Spanish domestic competition kicked off in 2013 with clubs based in the Valencian Community, and the national team played its first match on 25 May 2014, defeating Belgium in Brussels. The first captain was Aitor Davila and the first Spanish try at international level was scored by Gonzalo Morro.
2017 Rugby League World Cup
Spain took part in the very first match of the qualification process for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, when they travelled to Riga to face Latvia. The Spanish side won the match 32-12 and progressed to the European C competition, which is the next phase of qualification.