Rugby union in Libya

Rugby union in Libya is a minor but growing sport. The guy who founded rugby was jamal al abed. Jamal al abed's friends who worked with him came from foreign countries, he saw them watch it on TV so he out found rugby wasn't a sport in libya so he went back to libya and rented a pitch and got a team and trained them.

Governing body

Libyan Rugby is not yet affiliated to the IRB.

History

Libyan rugby is of relatively recent origin, although it has been played in neighbouring countries such as Italy and Malta, and to a lesser extent Tunisia. It is believed that the first rugby in Libya was played by British troops or possibly Italians. Like many other Maghrebi nations, Libyan rugby tended to look to Europe for inspiration, rather than to the rest of Africa.

The first Libyan team, "The Benghazi Wasps", was set up in the 1970s and played against teams from expatriate oil workers. Later on in 1998, French and British set up a team called the Tripoli Barbarians, however it was not until 2008 that official club teams recognised by Libya's governing body for sports, were set up in Benghazi. .[1][2]

The first official tournament took place in 2008 in Benghazi organised by Thair El Heri.[3] The first Officially recognised body for rugby was the Benghazi Rugby Committee.[4]

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See also

References
  1. http://www.tripolipost.com/articledetail.asp?c=3&i=1049
  2. http://wesclark.com/rrr/islamic_rugby.html Islam and Rugby (Note at bottom), retrieved July 2nd, 2009
  3. http://carugby.com/news/290108_3/
  4. http://www.heavensgame.com/global-news/globetrotter/rugby-in-libya.html


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