Biden backs ‘secret weapon’ NRL expansion into Pacific
Matthew CranstonUnited States correspondent
Mar 3, 2024 – 12.42pm
Las Vegas, Nevada | The White House is backing an expansion of the National Rugby League into the Pacific as a diplomatic counter to China’s growing influence in the region.
As the NRL launches its showcase double header in Las Vegas on Saturday (Sunday AEDT), the Biden administration confirmed it is supporting the Albanese government’s plans to invest in a new league team as a diplomatic strategy.
Peter V’landys at a White House dinner in October. Alex Ellinghausen
“The United States and Australia share a unique bond of friendship, this includes our shared passion for sports,” a senior Biden administration official told The Australian Financial Review.
“We both understand the important ways that sports can bring people of different cultures together and deepen trust between nations.”
Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys has reportedly commenced preparations to welcome a Papua New Guinea team into the NRL as soon as 2027.
Mr V’landys met with US President Joe Biden at a state dinner for Anthony Albanese last year at which the three discussed the merits of the plan involving $600 million from the Australian government over the next 10 years.
“The prime minister said that this was our secret weapon for the Pacific. And the president was all ears,” Mr V’landys said.
He said he expected the US would contribute financial support, especially given America’s ambition to strengthen ties in the Pacific as China increased its assertiveness in the region.
“We are doing this for the Australian government because of the importance of Papua New Guinea for the security of Australia and I would expect the US to certainly be part of it. I don’t have any doubt about that,” Mr V’landys said.
Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy presents a rugby league jersey to Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape. Alex Ellinghausen
Beijing has poured money into infrastructure projects in the Pacific, along with securing security agreements, to win influence. China constructed the stadium in the Solomon Islands at which the Pacific Games were held in December, and trained 80 Solomon Islands athletes in China.
“The Chinese or any country can go and build things, but what the Chinese haven’t got is rugby league. Our greatest advantage is we have sport,” Mr V’landys said.
State Department’s sports diplomacy
US deputy assistant secretary of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Camille Dawson told the Financial Review that Australia’s attempts to build up the league in the Pacific was a special opportunity for regional diplomacy.
“We have seen sports diplomacy programs open doors around the world, enabling us to speak with audiences we might not otherwise be able to reach and to build relationships that are not necessarily the ones that would be part of a sort of standard diplomatic outreach,” Ms Dawson said.
Ms Dawson, who was based in China for almost a decade and describes herself as a sports enthusiast, said the State Department had a well-established sports diplomacy office where rugby league would be a good fit.
“I am not a rugby player myself, but I have attended rugby [union] sevens in both Hong Kong and Singapore,” she said.
“We do believe that sports diplomacy is an important element of broader diplomacy,” she said. “It is a means to connect people on an emotional level to find ways to connect friends and colleagues in a space that you care deeply about.”
Former Australian ambassador to the US, Joe Hockey, said it was a “no-brainer” to expand rugby league into the Pacific.
“Soft diplomacy is as important if not more important than formal diplomacy in the Pacific,” Mr Hockey said.
“I walked the Kokoda trail and all the way up the trail into the highlands of Papua New Guinea there are kids wearing rugby league jerseys, and yet they’ve never watched a game in their lives. And the one thing you can be sure of is that China hasn’t got a rugby league team.”
While a previous NRL bid from PNG stalled last decade, the country was successful in entering a team in the state-based Queensland Cup in 2014, and has competed in an annual test with Australia called the Prime Minister’s 13 since 2005.
Mr V’landys said the strategy could have social impacts for local people, including preventing truancy.
“If we do it right we will put former rugby league players in schools, and as part of the syllabus, and what that does is make the kids turn up to school. And then that breaks that cycle of poverty because you want them to get an education and education is crucial to the success of any country.”
While the diplomatic and financial benefits of the government’s $600 million commitment could be enormous, there are logistical concerns.
Sydney City Roosters boss Rich Lister Nick Politis has said he wanted the game’s powerbrokers to ignore the government’s push for a team in PNG in the immediate future, and focus instead on spending money on developing players in the Pacific
