<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>This article is a case study of one of the few sports, rugby, that does not link national representation exclusively to citizenship. It discusses who may represent a country in major events and under which conditions. It analyses the consequences of the rules on different stakeholders; and discusses why the residency rule in particular is subject to much controversy. The author has conducted case studies of the 2019 rugby union and 2017 rugby league men’s World Cups. Academic literature, international news-papers, and rugby-specific websites were reviewed. Other than secondary sources, the researcher also collected primary data through interviews. The interviewees included representatives of Rugby League International Federation and World Rugby. This research reveals that national representation without citizenship is widespread in both codes of rugby. It has also shown that the effects of the eligibility criteria go beyond simplistic rich/poor and center/periphery models. This article argues that the rational for the eligibility criteria is the limited global spread of rugby league and rugby union. Without those lenient rules it would be difficult to organize international competitions.</p>
</abstract>

This article is a case study of one of the few sports, rugby, that does not link national representation exclusively to citizenship. It discusses who may represent a country in major events and under which conditions. It analyses the consequences of the rules on different stakeholders; and discusses why the residency rule in particular is subject to much controversy. The author has conducted case studies of the 2019 rugby union and 2017 rugby league men’s World Cups. Academic literature, international news-papers, and rugby-specific websites were reviewed. Other than secondary sources, the researcher also collected primary data through interviews. The interviewees included representatives of Rugby League International Federation and World Rugby. This research reveals that national representation without citizenship is widespread in both codes of rugby. It has also shown that the effects of the eligibility criteria go beyond simplistic rich/poor and center/periphery models. This article argues that the rational for the eligibility criteria is the limited global spread of rugby league and rugby union. Without those lenient rules it would be difficult to organize international competitions.

National Representation without Citizenship: the Special Case of Rugby

Visiting Associate Professor at Georgetown University

Politics in Central Europe

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"National Representation without Citizenship: the Special Case of Rugby"}

This article is a case study of one of the few sports, rugby, that does not link national representation exclusively to citizenship. It discusses who may...

National Representation without Citizenship: the Special Case of Rugby

Published Online: Oct 20, 2021

Page range: 501 - 523

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pce-2021-0021

Keywords
citizenship, eligibility criteria, rugby league, rugby union, residence, sports governance

© 2021 Danyel Reiche, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

National Representation without Citizenship: the Special Case of Rugby

Published Online: Oct 20, 2021

Page range: 501 - 523

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pce-2021-0021

Keywordscitizenship, eligibility criteria, rugby league, rugby union, residence, sports governance

© 2021 Danyel Reiche, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
citizenship, eligibility criteria, rugby league, rugby union, residence, sports governance