Morocco is set to become the fourth African nation to be granted affiliate member status, after their application was accepted by the Rugby League European Federation. It has now been forwarded to the board of International Rugby League for their formal accreditation.

Should they be elevated from observer status, Morocco will join Nigeria and Ghana and, most recently, Cameroon whose request for an upgrade is also currently with the IRL.

Morocco RL president, Yamina Abdsellem said: “We are very happy to receive this confirmation that our affiliate member application has been approved by the RLEF. It will give another dimension to our domestic competition and legitimize our existence within the Moroccan Sport Ministry.”

Abdsellem added: “The FMRL projects and objectives are multiple, our priority is to work as a national showcase via our girls and boys teams, as well as our university clubs and our XIII Moroccan wheelchair side. All the hard work and effort is starting to pay off at last, and today is where the real development work begins. It starts with preparing for future Middle East Africa Cup competitions and aiming to be part of the qualification process for the 2025 World Cup.”