Singapore RL also launched last year, RL is slowly starting up in Asia which is great to see.
Any true RL fan celebrates RL being played at any level and to see new countries being exposed to our amazing game is very positive. You can't grow a crop without preparing the soil and planting seeds.

accuracy is everything

We do really need to get into rich and first world countries a lot more.
PNG has more genuine fans of the game than any other country, but because they are a very poor, third world country, it does us no good.
On the other hand, there are maybe a few thousand fans in the USA and Italy, and already they generate enough income to fund regular internationals without the RLIF needing to chip in anything.
Having the game played in the UAE and Hong Kong is a good thing, because those countries have money.
The Pacific Islands produce lots of players and good teams, but no money for the game.

Quite.

The OP wasn't saying that UAE were entering the super league, or that anyone should bung huge cash at the Persian Gulf, or claiming this was a rival to soccer, or bemoaning a lack of media coverage. He merely pointed out that there's some RL being played in an unlikely place.

Then in came Cassandra to rain on something that wasn't even a parade.

Pure trolling/lack-of-self-awareness/self-importance.

Daft.

And that has what to do with the founding of a domestic RL league in the UAE?

Why do you waste your time trolling? Surely you have better things to do?

Good news & the more people who get a chance to play & experiance our game the better. I dont expect many of the newer countries to make much diferance to the top pro game in my or my childrens life time but even if it is just a social gathering of union lads trying the game out who cares? A lot will find it easier to understand & play without a lot of coaching & who knows once we get the numbers over a critical point then the TV audiance for the NRL, super league & internationals could grow.

Can't gutterfax just be banned for being terminally boring?

No he cannot be: a PUB side in the UAE : say no more.
I assume (he said "pub"icon_wink.gif that all games will be in Dubai only. And they're bars. And for tourists.

He's Irish you know. They kick up a bit of a fuss when the English try to put them down.

On the other hand most Irish people I know aren't as boring as him, so maybe a precedent could be set in his case, that he could be banned for bringing the great Irish nation into disrepute by being incredibly boring.

I have no doubt the most intelligent part of you was left as a stain on the matress

RL has actually been played in UAE for several years, although up until last year they only played occasional international matches or one-off fixtures. I believe former Leeds and Huddersfield player Wayne McDonald was involved at one stage and former London Broncos player Ben Bolger captains one of the domestic teams.

They aren't particularly organized compared to many other nations which is why they don't have any official international recognition yet, they always seemed more interested in playing international matches and entering the World Cup than actual domestic progress but I guess that's just the nature of the sport in UAE.

Most of you people would be amazed if you knew what goes on in various countries, the first organized RL matches were played in Ethiopia last week.