From Burundi to Cuba, Greece, Jamaica, Latvia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Ukraine and Zimbabwe, the NRL is Australia’s most culturally diverse sporting code.
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo noted at the launch of this weekend’s Multi-Cultural Round that 153 players from the Telstra Premiership played for 13 of the 16 teams in last year’s World Cup – but that is only the tip of the iceberg.
In total, the NRL boasts players who are eligible to represent 63 nations, including those listed above, as well as the likes of Canada, Italy, Lebanon, Macedonia, Malta, Nigeria, Serbia, Spain, South Africa, Turkey and the United States.
Besides Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific nations have the largest representation, with 45 per cent of NRL players being of Pasifika heritage. A further 10 per cent have Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander heritage.
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