MEA Championship

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 the Rugby League European Federation. 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.

MEA Championship
Current season or competition:
2020 MEA Rugby League Championship
SportRugby league
Instituted2015
Number of teams4
RegionMiddle East & Africa (Middle East & Africa International)
Holders Nigeria (2019)
Most titlesNigeria and Lebanon (1 title)
Related competitionEuropean Cup
Tournaments

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

Six nations have taken part in the two MEA Championships held to date:

Finals
Year Host Winner Score Runner-up Losing semi -finalists Number
of
teams
2015  South Africa
Lebanon		 n/a
South Africa		 n/a n/a 2
2019  Nigeria
Nigeria		 38 – 10  Morocco  Ghana  Cameroon 4
2020  South Africa 4

Results
TeamTitlesRunners-upSemi-finals
 Lebanon 1 (2015) 0 0
 Nigeria 1 (2019) 0 0
 South Africa 0 1 (2015) 0
 Morocco 0 1 (2019) 0
 Ghana 0 0 1 (2019)
 Cameroon 0 0 1 (2019)

See also
  • Rugby League International Federation

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