NIGEL WOOD has revealed that his appointment as RFL chairman will come under scrutiny once more in summer 2026.

Wood joined the RFL in 2001 as Finance Director having been the founding Secretary of Super League Europe, going on to become the RFL’s Operating Officer and Chief Executive before leaving in January 2018 to take up the CEO role at the Rugby League International Federation.

Now he has returned to the full-time chairman position after being initially appointed on an interim period.

But, his position will once more be looked at next year.

“All appointments are to the next AGM which is May or June 2026. Because of how the change at board level arrived at in March, you can only be reappointed for less than a year,” Wood told the League Express podcast.

“I would hope to be able to recommend to the RFL members what the way forward is in that time anyway.”

With Wood undertaking a ‘strategic review’ into the current state of the sport, what does that even mean?

“It’s not a discrete piece of work, it’s in the mainstream of where we are trying to take the sport.

“We are trying to make the sport the most investable proposition it can be and with the best centre we can have in terms of providing services for the clubs.

“There will be discussion on competition structure and structure of cup competitions and hopefully there will be a stronger international commitment on the back of this.”