MEA Rugby League Championship

Last updated

MEA Championship
Current season or competition:
Rugby football current event.svg 2022 MEA Rugby League Championship
Sport Rugby league
Instituted2015
Number of teams4
RegionMiddle-East and Africa (MEARL)
HoldersFlag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria (2022)
Most titlesFlag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria (2 titles)

The Middle East-Africa Rugby League Championship (MEA) is a rugby league football competition for national teams from the Middle East and Africa which is organised by Middle East Africa Rugby League a sub-branch of the European Rugby League. The first tournament was held in 2015 as a part of the qualification process for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, and was followed by tournaments in 2019 and 2020 with an expanded structure.

Contents

History

The MEA Championship began in 2015 as a part of the qualification process for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup in order to determine the sole participant from the Middle East and Africa. Lebanon defeated South Africa in both fixtures and secured world cup qualification in addition to winning the first championship title.

The tournament was reborn in 2019 as a championship between select nations in the Middle East and Africa. The 2017 edition featured national teams only from West Africa including eventual winners Nigeria, as well as Morocco, Ghana and Cameroon.

The Rugby League European Federation announced in 2020 that an additional tournament was planned for 2020, [1] and that thereafter the tournament would be held on a bi-annual basis. [2] The 2020 edition will be held at Tuks Stadium, in Pretoria, South Africa and will see the return of current title holders Nigeria, alongside previous participants Morocco, Lebanon and South Africa. [2]

Appearances

Seven nations have taken part in the three MEA Championships held to date:

Results

YearHostWinnerScoreRunner-upThird and Fourth place or losing semi-finalistsNumber
of
teams
2015 Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa Flag of Lebanon.svg
Lebanon
90 – 28 [lower-alpha 1] Flag of South Africa.svg
South Africa
N/A2
2019 Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria Flag of Nigeria.svg
Nigeria
38 – 10Flag of Morocco.svg
Morocco
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana and Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon 4
2020 Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa Tournament cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.4
2022 Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana Flag of Nigeria.svg
Nigeria
30 – 4Flag of Ghana.svg
Ghana
Flag of Kenya.svg
Kenya
Flag of Cameroon.svg
Cameroon
4

Results by nation

TeamTitlesRunners-upSemi-finals
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 2 (2019, 2022)00
Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon 1 (2015)00
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana 01 (2022)1 (2019)
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 01 (2015)0
Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 01 (2019)0
Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon 002 (2019, 2022)
Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 001 (2022)

See also

Notes

  1. Aggregate over two matches

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References

  1. "Lineup Confirmed for 2020 MEA Championship". RLEF. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Draw Confirmed for 2020 MEA Championship". RLEF. Retrieved 19 February 2020.