Key Points
- A two-year plan has been launched for a new international rugby league tournament.
- The first Pacific Championships will be co-hosted by Australia, NZ and PNG this year.
- The Australian government has contributed $7 million towards the initiative.
The Australian government has said it would commit $7 million for a Pacific rugby league championship, in a "football diplomacy" move seen as boosting the nation's soft power amid competition for influence with China.
Women's and men's teams from seven countries will compete in the Pacific Rugby League Championships, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday.
Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Tonga will field teams. The first games will be played in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea this year, between October and November.
"Geography makes us neighbours, but through sport we build strong and lasting ties across the Pacific family," Albanese said.
In a speech announcing the championship, Albanese noted that the Pacific Islands Forum regional leaders meeting in Fiji last year coincided with a high-profile rugby league match between New South Wales and Queensland states - watched by the leaders, who were wearing team jerseys.
About half of the players in Australia's National Rugby League competition are of Pasifika heritage, said Pat Conroy, the minister for international development and the Pacific.
'Football diplomacy'
Conroy has noted "football diplomacy" in the Pacific was an area where Australia held an edge over China.
"Sport unites us - and there is no sport that does that more than rugby league. Think about the Rugby League World Cup when we saw Samoa battle the Kangaroos.
"There were 100,000 Australians of Samoan heritage. And I think every one of them was out in the streets in the week leading up to that final showing their pride for their two countries."
The Australian team celebrates following its victory over New Zealand in the 2022 Women's Rugby League World Cup final. The newly announced Pacific Championship will also showcase women's rugby league. Source: AAP / Tim Goode
Albanese said the Pacific Championship would showcase women's rugby league and that the Matildas had shown how women's sport can inspire nations.
The success of Matildas player Mary Fowler, who is of PNG heritage and will play in the World Cup quarter-final on Wednesday, has been celebrated across the Pacific.
