Staff and players of Greece’s squad have given up payment for appearing in the imminent Rugby League World Cup, Zero Tackle has reported.
Head coach, Steve Georgallis, said a decision was made squad-wide to forego any tournament allowances or payments and reinvest them into the Greek Rugby League Federation (GRLF).
The majority of players in the squad are part-time footballers and part-time workers, and have taken leave without pay just to don the blue-and-white jersey ahead of Greece’s debut at the World Cup on Tuesday, October 18.
“It’s actually costing a lot of the guys to play but they understand what we are trying to achieve,” Georgallis told AAP.
“Even the professional guys like Lachlan Ilias and Peter Mamouzelos (Rabbitohs), you’d think they would get paid but they said ‘no, we get what you’re trying to build’.”
Rugby league was outlawed in Greece until August when the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports officially declared that rugby league has the right to be played in the country.
This decision came after a ten-year battle with the GRLF to have rugby league recognised as a unique and separate sport in the Greece.
The GRLF can now legally play, advertise and promote matches and are hopeful the decision will improve access to better fields and government funding, and lead to the creation of youth teams, school programs and future government funding.
In the meantime, Georgallis said the squad’s focus remains on their upcoming match against France at Eco-Power Stadium in Doncaster, UK, followed by matches against Samoa and England on October 23 and October 29 respectively.
Source: Zero Tackle.
