Twelve members, including seven of the organisation's 10 full members, recorded participation increases with Jamaica the most productive.

Across all competitions, the Jamaica Rugby League Association, a full member of the RLEF since February 2013, completed 138 domestic matches compared to 100 in the two preceding seasons, and remains the fourth most active country in the RLEF.

It also generated 55 per cent of its revenue locally compared to 43 per cent in 2015 and posted its strongest-ever financial figures.

Italy and Norway also completed 100 per cent of their scheduled domestic matches.

The RLEF ran 12 technical courses over the course of 2016 in the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Turkey.

As a result, the organisation qualified 29 level one coach and match official educators, who in turn passed 80 level one coaches and match officials.

There were also encouraging signs of prudent financial management and sustainability among members.

England Rugby League registered a 14th consecutive annual profit while Wales Rugby League’s balance sheet was in its strongest historical position.

Following a period of reorganisation, Rugby League Ireland re-launched its player registration system and is confident of meeting senior participatory criteria this year.

Scotland Rugby League hired a full-time development officer through sportscotland funding and continues to restructure.

The year also saw the RLEF enhance its governance practices, issuing new loan guidelines to the membership as a protection against financial maladministration, adopting a new conflict of interest policy and, for the first time, appointing auditors. 

The Board also performed a self-evaluation exercise, using "A Code for Sport Governance" published by UK Sport last year, as a framework to assess the its own governance.

The report can be read in its entirety here.