Papua New Guinea is making a bid to join the NRL as the competition's 18th team.
The PNG government, along with local governing body PNG Rugby Football League (PNGRFL) and the country's Sports Foundation, officially launched a campaign to enter a team at an event in Port Moresby on Wednesday night.
PNG says it is working to be able "to demonstrate strong credentials as a prospective participant by 2025", with the aim to join the league by 2030.
The bid will "celebrate and showcase PNG's passion for the game, sporting talent and events hosting capability", it says.
The bid has been backed by PNG's Prime Minister and its cabinet, with the country's Sports Minister on hand at the launch.
"Sport is part of the fabric of Papua New Guinea," the minister, Wesley Raminai, said.
PNG is the only country in the world where rugby league is the national sport.
The country already has a team, The Hunters, competing in a lower-tier league in Queensland and its national side, The Kumuls, is currently ranked fifth in the world.
Several Papua New Guinean players already compete in the NRL and NRLW, including big-name stars like the Melbourne Storm's Justin Olam and St George's Elsie Albert.
"We are confident — we are a country of 10 million people, with rugby league played all over the country," PNGRFL chairman Sandis Tsaka said.
Potential political support for PNG's bid
Last year the Queensland-based Dolphins were announced as the 17th NRL team, set to join the competition in 2023. The announcement immediately set off debate about who would be the 18th team to prevent one club having a bye each round because of an uneven number of teams.
PNG will be coming up against contenders from Brisbane, Perth and New Zealand in its attempt to secure the spot in the league.
While the decision on the selection of the 18th team rests with Australian Rugby League Commission, there has been Australian political support for PNG entering the NRL in the past.
In 2018, the Labor Party moved a motion at its national conference to support the admission of a PNG side to the NRL if it was elected. This bid comes at a time when both major parties are looking to strengthen ties with PNG.
Mr Tsaka said he thought that could help the bid.
"There are many avenues we're looking at selling this, and I think it can strengthen diplomatic relationships — not just [at a government level] but people to people."
Both the Australian and British high commissioners to PNG attended the launch.
'Lessons learned' from previous failed bid
The idea of PNG entering the national competition has long been discussed and the country made a failed bid to join in 2009/10.
"The work that the government has done in infrastructure and the work that the rugby league family has done to invest in our domestic competitions — we are pretty confident that we can sustain an NRL licence."
The PNG government is committing 10 million kina ($3.8 million) a year for three years to assist with the bid.
There were criticisms of how money was spent during the last bid, but the minister said the costs of the bid will not "come at the expense of other essential spending for our country".
Mr Tsaka said they would work with stakeholders and partners on commercial strategies and planning as it would cost "significantly more" than K30m to launch a team.
The commercial aspect of the bid will need to be a focus for PNG, as it will be a central consideration for the Australian Rugby League Commission.
