| Rugby League Samoa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1949 |
| IRL affiliation | 1962 (Test nation) |
| Responsibility | Samoa |
 | |
As of 1 July 2009 | |
Rugby League Samoa are the governing body for rugby league in Samoa. They are based in the capital Apia, the League has suffered financially due to member leagues not paying affiliation fees. [1]
They were founded in 1949 and have been members of the Rugby League International Federation since 1974.
Along with the governing bodies of Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and the Cook Islands, they founded the Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation in December 2009.
The Samoa national rugby union team represents Samoa in men's international rugby union and it is governed by the Samoa Rugby Union. They are also known as Manu Samoa, which is thought to derive from the name of a Samoan warrior. They perform a traditional Samoan challenge called the siva tau before each game. Samoa Rugby Union were formerly members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Tonga. They are ranked 14th in the world.
The Tonga Rugby Union is the governing body of the sport of rugby union in Tonga. They are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Samoa. There is a rugby union playing population of fewer than 800 out of a total population of 100,000.
The International Rugby League (IRL) is the global governing body for the sport of rugby league football. Previously known as the Rugby League Imperial Board, the International Rugby League Board and latterly the Rugby League International Federation, the IRL is responsible for the Laws of the Game, the development, organisation and governance of rugby leagues internationally, and for the sport's major international tournaments; most notably the Rugby League World Cup.
Rugby Samoa is the governing body of the sport of rugby union in Samoa. Founded as the Apia Rugby Union in 1924, it was affiliated to the New Zealand Rugby Football Union the same year. It joined the International Rugby Board as the Western Samoa Rugby Football Union in 1988. In 1997, when Western Samoa amended its constitution to change the country's name from Western Samoa to Samoa, the union also changed its name, and dropped the word football to become the Samoa Rugby Union. In November 2020, they changed their name to Lakapi Samoa which is Samoan for Rugby Samoa. They were formerly members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Tonga. The union is also a member of the Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions (FORU).
Football Federation Samoa is a member of the Oceania Football Confederation and is the national governing body for association football in Samoa. It was founded in 1968 and became a FIFA member in 1986. The Samoa national football team is a regular entrant into OFC competitions, including FIFA World Cup qualifying.
Professional sports leagues are organized in numerous ways. The two most significant types are one that developed in Europe, characterized by a tiered structure using promotion and relegation in order to determine participation in a hierarchy of leagues or divisions, and a North American originated model characterized by its use of franchises, closed memberships, and minor leagues. Both these systems remain most common in their area of origin, although both systems are used worldwide.
The Tahiti Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in Tahiti. It was founded in 1989 and became affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1994.
Rugby union in Fiji is a popular team sport and is considered to be the national sport of the country. The sport was introduced to Fiji in the 1880s. Fiji is defined as a tier two rugby nation by World Rugby. The national team has competed at the Rugby World Cup and made it as far as the quarter finals. Their sevens team is also noted for their success, and have won the Rugby World Cup Sevens twice and the World Rugby Sevens Series three times.
Sports in American Samoa are slightly different from sports in Samoa. The main difference is that Samoans in American Samoa are more likely to follow or play American sports such as American football, basketball, and baseball. Western Samoans are more likely to follow or play rugby union, rugby league, and netball. Sports such as mixed martial arts, boxing, professional wrestling, and volleyball are popular among most ethnic Samoans regardless of location.
Rugby league is the national sport and most popular sport in the Cook Islands, with soccer and rugby union as the next most popular/played sports. In September 2009, the Cook Islands hosted the 2009 Pacific Mini Games. Cook Islands Sports National Olympic Committee is the official governing body of sport in the Cook Islands.
Rugby union in American Samoa is a growing sport.
Oceania Rugby, previously known as the Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions (FORU), is the regional governing body for rugby union in Oceania. It was founded in 2000 to represent the interests of Oceania rugby within World Rugby, the international governing body. It presently encompasses fourteen full members and two associate members.
The Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League Inc. is the governing body for rugby league in Papua New Guinea. They are based in the capital Port Moresby.
The Pacific Islands Rugby League Federation (PIRLF) is the governing body of rugby league in the South Pacific.
The Tonga National Rugby League (TNRL) was the governing body for rugby league in Tonga. It is based in the capital Nuku'alofa.
The American Samoa Rugby Union, or ASRU, is the governing body for rugby union in American Samoa. It was established in 1990, and became fully affiliated to the International Rugby Board (IRB) in 2012.
The Spanish Rugby League Association also known as España Rugby League, is the governing body of rugby league in Spain. The body was officially founded in 2013 and has held affiliate-level membership of the Rugby League European Federation since 2015, making the national team eligible to qualify for the Rugby League World Cup.
Seven countries have hosted and co-hosted the Rugby League World Cup. England, France, Australia and New Zealand have hosted the World Cup on multiple occasions and the tournament has never been played outside its traditional 'heartlands' in these areas. The Rugby League International Federation is responsible for picking hosts. From 1954 to 2008 World Cups were sporadic and hosts were picked and tournaments were arranged between the four traditional rugby league playing countries and the RLIF. From 2013 and beyond countries have to send an application to the RLIF to host the World Cup as more teams participate in international rugby league.
The Cook Islands Rugby League Association are the governing body for rugby league in Cook Islands. They are based in the capital Apia, the League has suffered financially due to member leagues not paying affiliation fees.
Global Rapid Rugby was an international rugby union competition that launched a showcase series for six professional teams in 2019, played in locations across the Asia-Pacific region. Rapid Rugby matches are slightly shorter than the traditional 80 minutes and have other variations from standard rugby laws that are intended to increase the speed of the game.
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