State of the Nation: Serbia

Keith Whitelock- 5/12/2011

In an era that has seen Rugby League develop at an astonishing rate throughout Europe, Serbia is clearly one of the standout nations in terms of youth development, quality of competition and all round professionalism. It is these factors that saw Serbia narrowly miss out to Jamaica in the first annual Rugby League Planet International Rugby League Club grant. Rugby League Planet asked Nebojsa Sretenovic from the Serbian Rugby League Federation to tell us a bit about the past, the present and what the future holds for Rugby League in Serbia. From this, the following article was collated.

The sport of Rugby league first started in Serbia in 1953 at the initiative of Secretary of the Yugoslav Sports Association Dragan Marsicevic who responded positively to an offer from the French Rugby League Federation to send two teams to Yugoslavia to promote Rugby League in Serbia. The first game was played in Belgrade on 26th November 1953 between a team of French students and a representation of Provence.

On the 1st November 1953 in the capital city of Belgrade, the first ever Rugby league team was formed. This team was called Rugby League Club Partizan. A few months later a second club was formed by the name of Rugby League Club Radnicki. With growing excitement for the fledgling sport, the first domestic game of Rugby League was played on Serbian soil between Partizan and Radnicki on April 26, 1954 in the historic town of Paracin. Rugby League Club Partizan ran out victors 21 points to 11 and thus have the claim of being the first ever team to win a domestic game of Rugby League in Serbia.

On May 1 1954, the two teams took to battle again, this time in Belgrade. Once again, Partizan were victorious winning 16:14. With Partizan and Radnicki attracting fans to the previously unknown sport, it was time for the first international game to be played in 1961. This event was a resounding success as Yougoslavia took on France A in the city of Banja Luka. It proved to be a close game with the French prevailing 13-0 in front of over 6,000 people.

As is the case with Rugby League in a lot of countries, this success was not maintained. In 1964 Rugby League came to a sudden halt due to pressure from Rugby Union clubs in Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia.

It wasn't until November 10, 2001 that Rugby League returned to Serbia on the initiative of Rugby League clubs Dorcol, Morava, Novi Sad and Beli Orao. These four teams formed the Serbian Rugby League Federation which set the pathways in place success on the international and domestic stage for the next decade.

In 2003, the highly successful Rugby League European Federation (RLEF) was formed. It was this same year that Serbia became members, utilising the resources the RLEF had to offer.

The major achievements over the next five years was the formation of the Belgrade Rugby League Federation which was set up by Rugby League clubs based in Belgrade along with the national side winning their first ever European Shield in 2007.

2009 saw the culmination of years of hard work with the Serbian Rugby League Federation becoming an official member of the Serbian Sport Association. This was a clear acknowledgment of the progress that Nebojsa Sretenovic and the Serbian Rugby League had made.

2010 saw a continued focus on junior development which continued to bear fruit with the national side winning the European Shield once more In an impressive development structure, Serbian Rugby league currently has more than 250 players who participate in the Serbian Rugby League domestic competition and more than 120 players who participate in Serbian Student Rugby with a thirst to expand these numbers even more. More than 10 youth tournaments are held each year.

The 8 clubs who currently play in the Serbian Domestic League play over 50 games each year. These 8 clubs are divided into two group. Group A consists of powerhouse Dorcol, along with Radnicki, Car Lazar and Red Star. Group B consists of Morava Cheetas, Nis, Soko and Old Town. Some of the events which took place in 2011 include First Division, Second League, Serbian Cup and Shield of Serbia. The plan for 2012 is to involve two more teams in Second Division. Two more junior competitions will also be introduced next year to the U18s Cup and U16s championship. In a structure that is clearly working, the Serbian Rugby League board currently consists of 5 board members with a clear passion and drive to develop the game of Rugby League in Serbia.

Always on the lookout for new initiatives to expand the appeal of Rugby League, 2011 saw the first ever Under 18's State of Origin tournament played on Sunday 10th July at FK Dubocica Stadium in the city of Leskovac. The three teams were compiled of players from Vojvodina (North Serbia), Belgrade and the South Serbia. In a game that was more about game development than the actual result, Vojovodina ran out winners in draining 38 degree heat. With 51 players from all over Serbia, board member Radoslav Novakovic was quoted as saying the event was a "dream for junior development". This event was considered a landmark day for Rugby League in Serbia. The autumn of 2011 saw the first ever U18s (13-a-side) national championship where five teams played each other once. Dorcol were crowned champions once again after tense grand final.

In a sport not always known for its stability, Serbia have proven to be a beacon of consistency, being able to boast of being one of the few countries to participate in every U18/U16 European Nations Cup since 2006. This is a feat that even countries such as Ireland and Wales haven't achieved.

In an acknowledgment of the progress of the game in Serbia, the Rugby League International Federation granted Serbia the rights to host a world cup qualifier double header to be staged in October 2011. Unfortunately, Serbia were unsuccessful in their quest to qualify for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup losing heavily to heritage player packed teams from Lebanon and Italy. In what was considered a great game of Rugby League, Serbia lost the Slavic cup to Russia, defeated 28-36 in Belgrade.

This has not weakened the desire to qualify for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. Asked about the immediate goals of the Serbian Rugby League, Nebojsa Sretenovic told us that that he wants Serbia to become one of the leading nation in Rugby League in the Continental Europe. After conversing with Nebojsa, Rugby League Planet believes that Serbian Rugby League is already well on its way to achieving this goal.

If you are passionate about the development of Rugby League worldwide and would like to help out countries such as Serbia, join the Rugby League Planet International Rugby League Club today for only $10 per month. Click here to check out the Rugby League planet Forum to find out more.