MEA Rugby League Championship
Current season or competition: 2022 MEA Rugby League Championship | |
Sport | Rugby league |
---|---|
Instituted | 2015 |
Number of teams | 4 |
Region | Middle-East and Africa (MEARL) |
Holders | Nigeria (2022) |
Most titles | Nigeria (2 titles) |
Tournaments |
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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.
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
Appearances
Seven nations have taken part in the three MEA Championships held to date:
- South Africa - 1 appearance
- Lebanon - 1 appearance
- Nigeria - 2 appearance
- Morocco - 1 appearance
- Ghana - 2 appearance
- Cameroon - 2 appearance
- Kenya - 1 appearance
Results
Year | Host | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Third and Fourth place or losing semi-finalists | Number of teams | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | South Africa | Lebanon |
90 – 28[a] | South Africa |
N/A | 2 | ||||
2019 | Nigeria | Nigeria |
38 – 10 | Morocco |
Ghana and Cameroon | 4 | ||||
2020 | South Africa | Tournament cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. | 4 | |||||||
2022 | Ghana | Nigeria |
30 – 4 | Ghana |
Kenya |
Cameroon |
4 |
Results by nation
Team | Titles | Runners-up | Semi-finals |
---|---|---|---|
Nigeria | 2 (2019, 2022) | 0 | 0 |
Lebanon | 1 (2015) | 0 | 0 |
Ghana | 0 | 1 (2022) | 1 (2019) |
South Africa | 0 | 1 (2015) | 0 |
Morocco | 0 | 1 (2019) | 0 |
Cameroon | 0 | 0 | 2 (2019, 2022) |
Kenya | 0 | 0 | 1 (2022) |
See also
Notes
- ^ Aggregate over two matches
References
- ^ "Lineup Confirmed for 2020 MEA Championship". RLEF. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
- ^ a b "Draw Confirmed for 2020 MEA Championship". RLEF. Retrieved 19 February 2020.