The regulations require applicants to formally register their organisation, open a bank account establish a Board of Directors and nominate candidates to lead technical education.

Slovakia founded their Federation in 2020 taken part in nine a side competitions in the neighbouring Czech Republic.

"We began our activities in 2020 but had to wait for the pandemic to finish. We then turned to the Hodonin and Orli Havlíčkův Brod clubs in the Czech Republic for help and we played in some 9s tournaments," Slovakian Rugby League chairman Charles Cimetiere said.

"The players in Slovakia were very enthusiastic and found it easy to learn rules and demonstrated attack-oriented game play."

Last October Slovakia hosted Poland in what was billed as their first test match, losing 22-18.

“We demonstrated our progress when we hosted Poland and narrowly lost 22-18 to them,” Cimitiere said.

The Slovaks have already set in motion a youth development programme.

"Children are the future of rugby league in Slovakia," Cimitiere said

"Indeed, in terms of learning age, physical development, and potential years of play, they are the ideal target.

"Our priority is to focus on the under-18, under-16 and under-14 levels where children will quickly join the adult category to provide more matches in the future for the national team."

North Macedonia’s development in the sport has been driven by the expatriate community in Australia.

Former National Rugby League stars Paul Gallen, Josh Morris and Keith Galloway helped coach a North Macedonia team in last October's New South Wales Rugby League Harmony Nines.

The cooperation is due to continue with players in Australia mentoring coaches in Macedonia.

Officials hope Kangaroos players will help Macedonia prepare for a match schedule which is planned to include international friendlies against Malta, Turkey and Greece.

"We have already begun our search for players and that will include those who have played rugby union, as well as handball," Rugby League North Macedonia chairman Peter Ristevski said.

The headquarters of the Federation is to be in Skopje where there are plans to establish a ground for the sport.

The squad is also set to use the Goran Pandev Academy at Strumica's high-performance training.

The applications for Slovakia and North Macedonia will both be set before the full IRL membership for approval.