Sport | Rugby league |
---|---|
Formerly known as | Central Europe Development Tri-Nations |
Inaugural season | 2006 |
Number of teams | 6 |
Region | Europe (RLEF) |
Champions | Serbia |
Most titles | Serbia (3 titles) |
Website | rlef.eu.com |
Related competition |
European Championship European Championship C |
The European Shield is a rugby league football competition. The competition is organised by the Rugby League European Federation and is designed to promote the sport of rugby league in Central Europe and Eastern Europe. It was first officially held in 2007, though its precursor - the Central Europe Development Tri-Nations - was held the year prior.
The competition was first held in 2006 under the name of Central Europe Development Tri Nations and contained three teams between 2006 and 2009. In 2010 the competition was expanded to six teams and split into an Eastern and Western conference consisting of three teams each. In 2011 the competition was reverted to three teams with Norway and Malta making their debuts. In 2012 the competition was expanded to four teams and played in winter between 2012/13; the same was applied to the 2014/15 edition of the competition and was used for qualification for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup