The Greek Rugby League Federation announced in a social media post that it has finally received recognition from the Greek government.
"Today the Greek Rugby League Federation received special sports recognition from the General Secretariat of Sports! A big thank you to the dozens of people who fought for so many years to make it a reality! 👏 More details and comments coming soon," the federation wrote on Facebook.
The announcement was accompanied with images of the documents approving their recognition.
Greek Rugby League was first formed in Australia by Greek-Australian Colin Mylonas. The team, nicknamed 'The Titans' first played international fixtures in 2003.
Greece played a warm-up match against New Caledonia in late August winning 10–26. In September of that year, the Greece national team played their debut RLIF sanctioned game against Italy in September, narrowly losing 26–24 in Jubilee Oval, Sydney.
Greece won their first ever Rugby League Championship in 2009 when they won the Australian Mediterranean Shield, defeating Italy in the Final 34–14. This was the first competition that the Greek side had competed in.
The Greeks were captained by Wests Tigers player John Skandalis. Greece did not qualify for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.
In November 2019, Greece qualified for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup after participating in the final round of European World Cup Qualifiers in Pool B with matches against Scotland and Serbia.
Greece were unable to host their designated match against Scotland, as the Greek government does not recognise the Greek Rugby League Association, and instead, the match was played in London at New River Stadium on 1 November. Greece were defeated 42–24.
Now with this new recognition, Greece can finally host games for the national Rugby League team.
Elsewhere, Rugby league star Jack Johnson revealed he lost his ‘favourite testicle’ after it exploded following a freak training collision with a teammate’s knee.
The Newcastle Thunder winger was left in hospital after his testicle exploded in training on Thursday. After suffering the excruciating injury, Johnson was rushed to hospital where he had his testicle removed.
Upon sustaining the injury, Johnson took to social media to reveal the news, showcasing the admirable way the winger took the injury. He wrote: “What a load of b******s.
“Not my greatest Thursday ever with the old testicle exploding at training. Had it removed last night.
“Will be back soon, just a little bit lighter and as the saying goes, rugby league wins again.”
The 23-year-old added: “PS does the swelling stay? Asking for a friend.”
Despite the pain and trauma, Johnson is seeing the funny side to his issue. When asked to expand on his ordeal, he said: “Basically over the last few days, I had a bit of a freak injury in training.
“I’ve ended up losing one of my testicles and it was actually my favourite one, my left one. Unfortunately, I just took a knee to the ball and the rest is history.”
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