Every game of the 2018 Rugby League Emerging Nations World Championship (ENWC) will be live streamed with commentary, ensuring audiences across the globe can watch the talent on show among rugby league’s newest nations.
Through a partnership between the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) and BarTV Sports, live streaming of the tournament’s 33 matches from 1 October 2018 to 13 October 2018 will bring the Sydney-based event into the homes of rugby league fans worldwide, and to new audiences in the participating countries.
The free live stream will feature multi-camera coverage of almost every match, commentary of all matches, and post-match interviews with players, coaches and other officials.
International development manager Tas Baitieri said: “We are delighted to have secured BarTV Sports as live streaming partner for the third Emerging Nations World Championship.”
“The event has drawn a large contingent of teams from around the world, and offering live streaming of the tournament back into those nations and beyond can only enhance the reach the game now has, and encourage new countries to take up the sport.”
Josh Mason, co-founder and managing director of BarTV Sports, said: “There is already a great deal of excitement surrounding the Emerging Nations World Championship, and BarTV Sports can’t wait to showcase every big hit, every try and all the emotion of playing for your country to anyone in the world with an internet connection.”
“We have always prided ourselves on growing the game, and feel there is no better way to show this than teaming up with ENWC.”
Eleven nations will compete in ENWC (Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Japan, Malta, Niue, Philippines, Poland, Solomon Islands, Turkey and Vanuatu), while four regional teams comprising players from Africa, South East Asia, Latin America and Mediterranean-Middle East will take part in a concurrent Confederations Cup tournament.
As part of the same event, physical disability representative teams from Australia and New Zealand will participate in a three-match test series, which will also be live streamed.
Matches will be live streamed via the tournament’s website (www.rlenwc.com) and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/rlenwc) as well as on BarTV Sports’ social media platforms and website (www.bartvsports.com.au), and shared via individual teams’ online platforms.
The tournament, which takes place across three Sydney venues, will kick off at 1330 AEDT (UTC+11) on Monday 1 October at Windsor Sporting Complex with three matches: Malta v Philippines, Solomon Islands v Turkey and Hungary v Greece.