The British Asian Rugby Association (BARA) is a rugby governing body, encompassing both rugby union and rugby league, for British players of Asian descent. It was spearheaded by Ikram Butt, a former England rugby league and Pakistan rugby union international.
Rugby refers to the team sports rugby league and rugby union. Legend claims that rugby football was started circa 1845 in Rugby School, Rugby, Warwickshire, England, although forms of football in which the ball was carried and tossed date to medieval times. Rugby eventually split into two sports in 1895 when twenty-one clubs split from the original Rugby Football Union, to form the Northern Union in the George Hotel, Huddersfield, Northern England over the issue of payment to players, thus making rugby league the first code to turn professional and pay its players, rugby union turned fully professional in 1995. Both sports are run by their respective world governing bodies World Rugby and the Rugby League International Federation. Rugby football was one of many versions of football played at English public schools in the 19th century. Although rugby league initially used rugby union rules, they are now wholly separate sports. In addition to these two codes, both American and Canadian football evolved from rugby football.
Rugby union, commonly known in most of the world simply as rugby, is a contact team sport which originated in England in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is between two teams of 15 players using an oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field with H-shaped goalposts at each end.
Rugby league football is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field. One of the two codes of rugby, it originated in Northern England in 1895 as a split from the Rugby Football Union over the issue of payments to players. Its rules progressively changed with the aim of producing a faster, more entertaining game for spectators.
There is a BARA team that takes part in various tournaments, such as the All India and South Asian rugby union championships, which they won in 2005. The team also provides a number of players to the Pakistan national rugby union team.
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A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all-star team or even selected as a hypothetical team and never play an actual match.
The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisation. This has since been supplanted by Super League, the Championship and League 1.
The British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA) is an association for social and recreational rugby league. It works jointly with the Rugby Football League through the RFL Community Board.
The Cook Islands national rugby league team has been participating in international rugby league football competition since 1986. The team is controlled by the governing body for rugby league in Cook Islands, Cook Islands Rugby League Association (CIRLA), which is currently a member of the Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation (APRLC). They are currently ranked 43 in the RLIF World Rankings.
Rugby league is played across England but is most popular in Northern England, especially Yorkshire and Lancashire where the game originated. These areas are the heartland of rugby league. The sport is also popular in Cumbria where the amateur game is particularly powerful.
Sport in Pakistan is a significant part of Pakistan culture. Cricket is the most popular sport in Pakistan, while field hockey, polo, and squash are also popular. Traditional sports like kabaddi and other well-known games are also played. The Pakistan Sports Board was created in 1962 by the Ministry of Education as a corporate body for the purposes of promoting and developing uniform standards of competition in sports in Pakistan comparable to the standards prevailing internationally, and regulating and controlling sports in Pakistan on a national basis. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, now has control over the Pakistan Sports Board. The PSB controls all 39 sporting federations. The Pakistan Sports Board is supported by the Pakistan Sports Trust, which assists hard up players and associations so they can continue participating in sports.
The Pakistan national rugby union team represents Pakistan in international rugby union. Pakistan is a member of the International Rugby Board (IRB), and have yet to play in a Rugby World Cup tournament. As of 2012, they will play in Division IV of the Asian championships, having been relegated from Division III in 2012.
The Brunei National Rugby Team represents Brunei in international rugby union. They have yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup. It is governed by the Brunei Rugby Football Union
The Pakistan Rugby Union (PRU) is the rugby union governing body in Pakistan. It is in charge of the national team. Also among the Union's chief activities are conferences, organising international matches, and educating and training players and officials.
Rugby union in South Korea is a minor but growing sport. Of the two Korean nations, the game tends to be mostly played in South Korea; North Korea's mostly small rugby union presence is limited to Koreans in Japan.
Rugby union in Pakistan is a minor but growing sport.
Rugby union was first introduced into Lebanon both by the mandated French forces, and subsequently by the Lebanese returning from the diaspora. Introduced into many other parts of the Middle East, by the British military in the mid 20th Century, rugby has begun to develop across the Arabian peninsula with the establishment of many national rugby federations and the development of the Dubai Sevens, which has helped generate interest in the sport in Arabic-speaking nations.
Ikram Butt is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played at representative level for England, and at club level for Featherstone Rovers, Leeds, London Broncos, Huddersfield Giants and Hunslet Hawks as a wing.
The Pakistan national rugby league team was founded in 2008 to represent Pakistan in rugby league football after receiving support from the British Asian Rugby Association. In 2009 the team was granted official observer status by the Rugby League International Federation.
The Lebanese National Rugby Union team have yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup. Lebanon played their first test match against Jordan on 14 May 2010 in Dubai The Phoenix currently competes in the Asian Rugby Football Union's, Asian Rugby Championship in Division Three West. Despite winning this division more than once, Lebanon will be unable to progress to a higher division until they achieve World Rugby Associate level.
