RL in Crisis
Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 10:26 pm
Bradford going into administration is the tip of the iceberg. The Broncos are leaving London after a 30-year struggle and there are failings with the salary cap and sponsors
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/gene ... 35589.html
The fear is that Bradford could be the tip of an iceberg of financial distress in the chilly waters of recession. The Bulls were the third Super League club in 18 months to go into administration, a record which has raised questions over the Rugby League's fiscal stewardship.
The RFL's chief executive compares the licences it grants to driving licences. They allow you to drive, but do not guarantee you won't crash. That is disingenuous, because, if the driving test tries to do anything, it tries to keep dangerous motorists off the road. The RFL has given the green light to some accidents waiting to happen.
If the rumours are correct, the next club to change hands will be Salford, which is what they need, because they have been haemorrhaging money since moving into their new stadium this season. They have had no option but to accept Sale Sharks as co-tenants and last Saturday suffered the indignity of having to take their final game of the season to Leigh, because the stadium was required for rugby union.
Two hundred miles south, rugby league could be about to lose its main professional presence in London after 30 years of struggle.
The London Broncos have had another unsuccessful, poorly supported season at The Stoop and are considering moving to Gillingham. The Medway has its attractions, not least a thriving junior club, but it is not London – and the capital is where rugby league's most significant grass-roots growth has been so hard-won.
Almost unnoticed, another club has dropped off the bottom end of the professional game, without ever playing a match. The Northampton Rebels were supposed to be one of four expansion clubs in the South, but have already withdrawn, conceding that they could not come up to scratch, even for part-time rugby in Championship 1.
Economic difficulties are not confined to club level. The code's two major competitions are in need of new sponsors. Super League's ill-fated dalliance with Eddie Stobart has crashed into the barriers after just one season – a failure which the RFL has somehow dressed up as a success.
In the Challenge Cup, Carnegie have been little more than sleeping partners for the last two years and cannot wait to get out.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/gene ... 35589.html
The fear is that Bradford could be the tip of an iceberg of financial distress in the chilly waters of recession. The Bulls were the third Super League club in 18 months to go into administration, a record which has raised questions over the Rugby League's fiscal stewardship.
The RFL's chief executive compares the licences it grants to driving licences. They allow you to drive, but do not guarantee you won't crash. That is disingenuous, because, if the driving test tries to do anything, it tries to keep dangerous motorists off the road. The RFL has given the green light to some accidents waiting to happen.
If the rumours are correct, the next club to change hands will be Salford, which is what they need, because they have been haemorrhaging money since moving into their new stadium this season. They have had no option but to accept Sale Sharks as co-tenants and last Saturday suffered the indignity of having to take their final game of the season to Leigh, because the stadium was required for rugby union.
Two hundred miles south, rugby league could be about to lose its main professional presence in London after 30 years of struggle.
The London Broncos have had another unsuccessful, poorly supported season at The Stoop and are considering moving to Gillingham. The Medway has its attractions, not least a thriving junior club, but it is not London – and the capital is where rugby league's most significant grass-roots growth has been so hard-won.
Almost unnoticed, another club has dropped off the bottom end of the professional game, without ever playing a match. The Northampton Rebels were supposed to be one of four expansion clubs in the South, but have already withdrawn, conceding that they could not come up to scratch, even for part-time rugby in Championship 1.
Economic difficulties are not confined to club level. The code's two major competitions are in need of new sponsors. Super League's ill-fated dalliance with Eddie Stobart has crashed into the barriers after just one season – a failure which the RFL has somehow dressed up as a success.
In the Challenge Cup, Carnegie have been little more than sleeping partners for the last two years and cannot wait to get out.
....