Georgia Rugby League

[İzmir Rugby League]

Hey all,

Does anyone have any contacts for anyone in Georgia interested in relaunching Georgian Rugby League? 

Unfortunately, our game in Turkey is struggling alot at present and given it is nearly impossible for Turkish players / teams to play in Europe (visa issues) I was considering the possibility of leaning the other direction if there is any movement. Maybe we can help each other. (Georgia is easier for us as Turkish people do not need a visa) 

I would be particularly interested in a "development squad" approach. 

[langpark]

On 30/05/2024 at 17:20, İzmir Rugby League said:

Unfortunately, our game in Turkey is struggling alot at present and given it is nearly impossible for Turkish players / teams to play in Europe (visa issues) I was considering the possibility of leaning the other direction if there is any movement. Maybe we can help each other. (Georgia is easier for us as Turkish people do not need a visa) 

I would be particularly interested in a "development squad" approach. 

Sad to hear about the state of the game in Turkey. But how is the visa issue relevant when it comes to domestic development?

[İzmir Rugby League]

On 01/06/2024 at 22:28, langpark said:

Sad to hear about the state of the game in Turkey. But how is the visa issue relevant when it comes to domestic development?

İn essence, without the prospect of regular international representation it is difficult to compete against sports that have far more resource than us and thus access to government financial guarantees to access visas (no gov recognition)

İt leaves the game without a full player pathway. 

Turkey is hyper nationalist, even the thought of representing Turkey gets the most average player engaged. 

Given Georgia allows Turks to enter without a visa at all it would be helpful to have a strong regular international opponent outside of Turkey (Greece, Bulgaria, etc have come to Turkey) Unfortunately most Turkish players can't go there. 

I am not saying that it will fix everything, the bigger issue is finance but putting together a stronger development pathway from grassroot to international is important. 

Edited June 3 by İzmir Rugby League

[Sammo]

5 hours ago, İzmir Rugby League said:

İn essence, without the prospect of regular international representation it is difficult to compete against sports that have far more resource than us and thus access to government financial guarantees to access visas (no gov recognition)

İt leaves the game without a full player pathway. 

Turkey is hyper nationalist, even the thought of representing Turkey gets the most average player engaged. 

Given Georgia allows Turks to enter without a visa at all it would be helpful to have a strong regular international opponent outside of Turkey (Greece, Bulgaria, etc have come to Turkey) Unfortunately most Turkish players can't go there. 

I am not saying that it will fix everything, the bigger issue is finance but putting together a stronger development pathway from grassroot to international is important. 

According to this -

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_requirements_for_Turkish_citizens

Serbia, Montenegro, and Albania do not require visas for Turkish citizens. Could these not be options? There is a member on here who is heavily involved in Montenegrin RL (Ian Gibbs??). I would reach out to him.

There is also Lebanon, which apparently grants a free visa on arrival.