Lebanese Rugby League is proud to announce a landmark partnership with one of Lebanon’s premier banks, Bank of Beirut.

The three-year deal, with an option for a further two-years, is worth a significant six-figure sum, and will see the Lebanese league re-branded the ‘Bank of Beirut Rugby League Championship’.

In addition to full competition naming rights, the Liban Espoir side will be known as the Bank of Beirut Espoirs, while the bank’s famous logo will also adorn the sleeves of the national team jersey for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

The Bank of Beirut connection gives Lebanese rugby league a further boost to cement the rapid advances made over the last few months, and builds on the firm foundations laid since 2002.

“Lebanese rugby league’s development model has been clear from the outset,” said LRLC vice president Danny Kazandjian. “We have been working on a policy of institutionalizing the sport within our partner universities, with the aim of making rugby league a part of their culture, before moving onto the public at large. This strategy has proved wonderfully successful, with a large number of Lebanese players, coaches and officials now, I’m proud to say, inveterate ‘leaguies’, as loyal supporters of the game as anyone in the traditional league-playing nations. This progressive partnership, with an institution the size and prestige of Bank of Beirut, is a reflection of the purely positive message embodied by Lebanese rugby league and together we will now be showcasing our sport to a nationwide audience. If our fine national team, the Cedars, can overcome the last two obstacles, namely Russia and Ireland, it will make 2007 a year to remember for Lebanese rugby league, and 2008 quite simply out of this world.”

The 2007-8 Bank of Beirut Rugby League Championship will be covered by all ten marquee Lebanese newspapers, as well as two prominent radio stations and the country’s major television stations, sky-rocketing the exposure of the sport in the mass media.

The new season begins on November 10^th, with the LRLC promising a further exciting announcement before the big kick off, and even more exciting news in the months ahead.