{"id":364826,"date":"2025-12-22T16:17:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T16:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/364826\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T16:17:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T16:17:09","slug":"greece-and-norway-join-european-under-19-championship-total-rugby-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/364826\/","title":{"rendered":"Greece and Norway join European Under 19 Championship \u2013 Total Rugby League"},"content":{"rendered":"

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GREECE and Norway are new entrants to the European Under 19 Championship \u2013 taking the total number of sides contesting the 2026 title to ten.<\/p>\n

The new kids on the block will join reigning champions England, hosts France, Ireland, Scotland, Serbia, Ukraine, Wales and USA at the Centre de Ressources, d\u2019Expertise et de Performance Sportive (CREPS) at Font Romeu in the Catalonian Pyrenees between July 10 and 19 in the fourth of the series.<\/p>\n

Ireland and Wales are back in the frame having last taken part in 2022, in Italy. Wales snared a bronze medal in that year\u2019s championship while Ireland lifted the Shield.<\/p>\n

Greek RL official Terry Liberopoulos said: \u201cIt\u2019s great news for the federation that we are able to move forward and compete in the European Under 19 Championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are aiming to further progress and become full members of International Rugby League, and a key part depends on the growth of our youth programme.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving the opportunity to represent their country will be a massive motivator for the young people playing Rugby League in Greece.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rugby League Norge president Anne Haigh said: \u201cWe have been developing our youth programme for some time and have already played several games at Under 16 and Under 19 level.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is time we tested ourselves in a competitive environment and give our youth players the opportunity to experience such big a tournament. We\u2019re very much looking forward to travelling to France and being part of the event.\u201d<\/p>\n

USA (the Young Hawks) made their bow in the 2024 tournament in Belgrade, when they came under ERL jurisdiction.<\/p>\n

France won the 2018 tournament with a narrow 26-24 victory over England in the final but were beaten 14-12 in the 2022 decider by England, who went on to become back-to-back champions in 2024 after coming from behind against France to triumph 15-8.<\/p>\n

ERL chair Dean Andrew said: \u201cI\u2019m very pleased that we have been able to grow the competition to ten nations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe appetite for youth Rugby League in Europe is growing and each of the competing nations are built on the back of active youth programmes in the respective countries, showing that they are on solid foundations and thinking about their future supply of players.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Under 19 Championship is always an exciting event, and adding a further dimension to it with new competitors will generate even more interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

The format and fixtures will be confirmed at the turn of the year.<\/p>\n

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