A four-week trial programme saw 40 students from the voluntary faith organisation Islamic Tarbiyah Academy receive an introduction to the sport from Francis Cummins and Clive Senior of Dewsbury Celtic and Ikram Butt and Starr Zaman from Leeds Rugby Foundation.

The project is thought to be the first time a mosque has had direct links with a local rugby league club, and is part of the Leeds Rugby Foundation’s Connecting Communities programme.

Hailing the project a great success, Zaman said: “The programme is the fruit of a lot of hard work by Dewsbury Celtic, Islamic Tarbiyah Academy, Connecting Communities and the Leeds Rugby Foundation. 

It highlights how a club like Celtic can reach out to the wider community and share learning and experiences.”

Cummins, assistant coach at Leeds Rhinos and vice-chairman of Celtic, added: “This pilot scheme has been brilliant. I am delighted to have been able to launch this programme in Dewsbury but there are communities like ours all over the region. By using rugby league to reach out to these kids not only do we strengthen our own club but we also give them a great opportunity to try a new sport and enjoy exercise.”

The project also enjoyed the full support of Sheikh Mufti Zubair Dudha, a former Westborough High School student who went on to further his religious studies in South Africa.

The Mufti was instrumental in development of the rugby sessions and has actively encouraged sports participation within the Islamic Tarbiyah Academy. He said: “This is another example of the valuable work the academy is doing for the local community. I believe the academy has a duty to help with the health and well-being of my congregation, and it achieves this by providing various sporting opportunities for its users.”

“The activities at the academy were open to everybody in the community, which is an example of how the Muslim community is engaging with the local population and tackling the community cohesion agenda.’’