SYDNEY, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Australia said it would commit A$7 million for a Pacific rugby league championship, in a "football diplomacy" move seen as boosting Australia's soft power amid competition for influence with China.
Women's and men's teams from seven countries will compete in the Pacific Rugby League Championships, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday.
About half of players in Australia's National Rugby League competition are of Pasifika heritage, said Pat Conroy, the minister for international development and the Pacific.
The Australian government has funded a PNG team in the Queensland state rugby competition, and a Fijian team in the NSW state competition, he said.
Albanese said that the Pacific Championship will showcase women's rugby league, and that the Matildas had shown how women's sport can inspire nations.
Persons:
Anthony Albanese, " Albanese, Albanese, Pat Conroy, Conroy, Mary Fowler, Kirsty Needham, Gerry Doyle
Organizations:
SYDNEY, Pacific, Pacific Rugby League, Pacific Islands Forum, New, Australia's National Rugby League, rugby, Fijian, league, Thomson
Locations:
Australia, China, Cook Islands, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, New South Wales, Queensland, Pacific, NSW