Why this Rugby League World Cup could be Lebanon’s last for a while

Lebanon’s meeting with France could be the Cedars’ last at the Rugby League World Cup for the foreseeable future as the conflict in the Middle East continues to impact the sport’s ability to thrive in the nation.

The Lebanese automatically qualified for the 2026 by virtue of making the quarter-finals at the 2022 tournament under head coach Michael Cheika. 

But in 2024, the International Rugby League (IRL) downgraded Lebanon’s membership status from full member to affiliate.

Only full members, who have to meet governance and domestic participation benchmarks across men’s, women’s and youth rugby league, can take part at World Cups.

“They’ve obviously got a very difficult environment to work in because of the conflict and things happening in Lebanon,” IRL chair Troy Grant told AAP ahead of the Cedars’ clash with France at CommBank Stadium on Sunday. 

“There’s been some concessions for that but in recent years, there’s been a massive improvement in the governance arrangements for Lebanon.

“Those based domestically are being supported by a really good group based in Australia.”

Lebanon played just one Test - against Italy in Sydney - between the 2022 World Cup and this year’s tournament. 

Cheika hasn’t selected a single player from Lebanon’s domestic competition, instead relying on players who qualify through ancestry who have received strong support from the Lebanese diaspora in Australia. 

“They’ve got a number of inhibitors that make it difficult but they’re an absolute asset to international rugby league,” Grant said. 

“They’re just caught up in massively difficult circumstances. 

“They qualified for this World Cup as quarter finalists from 2022 and since then the conflict has worsened. 

“They haven’t been able to have the game time, playing time to keep their numbers up.

“If you’re not playing, it’s very hard to have full membership status. 

“Like we do with other nations - Ireland and Scotland are examples who have fallen away on the domestic level - we’re working with them individually to give them every opportunity to maintain full member status, so they can be eligible for World Cup participation.”