MARTIN COYD – the chair of the Rugby Football League’s Community Board, and an executive director of the RFL – has provided a further update to leagues and clubs in the wake of the Community Board meeting last Wednesday (December 3).
Coyd also hailed Trevor Hunt for his long service on the board.
Hunt, who was chair of the National Conference League for many years, is now the NCL president (his successor as chair is Mike Denning) and the flagship league has invoked legal action against the RFL over the scheduled introduction of the National Community Rugby League initiative next year, under which the four-division NCL will be reduced to two divisions, with teams in the lower two sections reverting to regionalised competitions.
He said: “The board recognised Trevor, the tier 4 adult club representative, who has served his tenure and then some. He has been a member of the board since its inception, and I thank him for his contributions over the years.”
Coyd had earlier stated: “We discussed (at the meeting) two important but separate areas of work, namely the ongoing development of the National Community Rugby League (NCRL) framework and the annual review of Our League Active (OLA) membership fees.”
And he reminded leagues and clubs that “the NCRL brings together primary Rugby League, youth and junior, women and girls and open-age under a single aligned approach, ensuring our game is fun, safe, inclusive, and sustainable from tag through to open-age competition.”
He also revealed: “Throughout 2025, over 30 meetings, webinars, and forums have been held to develop the NCRL framework and ensure broad consultation on formats (online webinars, board meetings, regional forums, and club visits), geography (Yorkshire, North West, Cumbria, Hull, Southern Regions and national youth forums) and levels of the game (open-age clubs, juniors, volunteers, coaches, safeguarding leads, and management committees).”
Coyd reminded recipients that newly-formed management groups will include the NCL, NW Leagues, Yorkshire Juniors, Barrow and District, Hull Youth and Junior and Southern Regions.
And, in terms of consultation, he stressed: “Club representatives, junior voices, and safeguarding leads are included, alongside open-age concerns, demonstrating genuine representative consultation rather than tokenistic outreach.”
He summarised: “Primary Rugby League (under six to under eleven) continues to focus on fun, participation and early skill development.
“Regional groups in Cumbria, Yorkshire, North West and London continue to deliver fixtures and welfare support. PRL is now embedded within youth and junior management groups, ensuring consistency and streamlined governance.
“Regional leads will feed into the new National PRL steering group, chaired by Tyrone Oliver (formerly Chair of the Yorkshire Junior League) and updated terms of reference now formally include PRL responsibilities.
“PRL will remain simple, safe, and fun, helping more children fall in love with Rugby League as we finalise regional leads, confirm fixture co-ordination and prepare for 2026 delivery.
“Youth and Junior (under twelve to under 18) is now firmly established across the regions, with new management groups in Cumbria, North West, Yorkshire, and Hull, supported by strong chairs and appointed roles.
“Each group operates under shared terms of reference and competition rules, respecting regional nuances while ensuring overall consistency.
“Competition rules have been drafted and are close to final approval, supporting fairness and transparency.
“Youth and junior competitions are moving towards a consistent, supportive, development-minded structure where everyone can thrive, as work continues to finalise competition rules and align calendars for 2026.
“Significant progress continues in shaping the future of open-age competitions. A tiered structure has been confirmed as tier 3 (National Leagues and National Conference League) and tier 4 (Regional Leagues: the Cumbria Men’s League is transitioning to a single management group, with recruitment underway, while North West and Yorkshire Men’s Leagues have established management groups using standardised terms of reference).
“Competition rules for tiers 3 and 4 have been drafted, covering minimum standards and fixture requirements.”
Coyd revealed that the RFL was meeting with the National Conference League management and clubs (last Saturday, December 6) “to discuss the future tier 3 competition structure and ensure alignment within the NCRL framework”.
He continued: “The NCRL management group will be established in early 2026 as a sub-group of the Community Board, setting rules, standards and minimum requirements.
“Beneath this will sit management groups for men’s, youth and junior and women’s competitions.
“Minimum standards have been shared with tier 3 and 4 clubs, supported by development plans to help them progress, and the governance framework is now aligned across all formats, providing consistency and clarity.
“Looking ahead, the NCRL is about working together to build a system that supports everyone involved in our sport, from young children picking up a ball for the first time to adults enjoying competitive rugby in their local communities.
“We’re proud of the progress made in such a short time and grateful for the ongoing feedback and collaboration from clubs, leagues, and volunteers.”
Membership fees, meanwhile, will increase, and Coyd elaborated: “Our League Active (OLA) is Rugby League’s participation membership scheme, supporting the development of the community game.
“The Community Board has reviewed the membership structure annually since the introduction of OLA (a process which is separate from NCRL governance reform).
“OLA fees fund the essential services that keep the community game safe, sustainable and well-governed, including regulation and governance, developing and enforcing rules while safeguarding players, administration and community game services, running registration systems, operating platforms and providing general support to clubs and competitions, staffing, training, and supporting referees and other officials, central services and data and managing data, systems, coach administration, and customer service to ensure smooth operations across the sport.
“OLA membership fees will rise modestly by £2–£3 per category to ensure the continued delivery of essential services.”
The new fees are: adults £30 (up from £27), players over 12 years old £23.50 (from £21), primary (under six to under eleven) £17 (from £15), social (£20 (from £18), wheelchair £15 (a new category for 2026), development leagues £20 (from £18).
Coyd concluded: “NCRL focuses on governance and competition structures, while OLA ensures membership and long-term sustainability.
“Both are essential to protecting and growing the community game. These updates show how we are building a stronger, more sustainable future for Rugby League.”
Rugby League Conference side Bristol All Golds are backing Coyd.
Lionel Hurst, the south-west outfit’s long-serving chair and managing director, told League Express: “The Rugby Football League’s new national pyramid plan makes considerable sense, indeed it should have been introduced when the switch to a summer season was announced in 1995.
“The Bristol club would like to praise the RFL and those involved. Moreover, the documentation supplied can only be described as first class in presentation, content and accuracy.
“Bristol All Golds look forward to playing so many famous clubs throughout Great Britain in due course.
“The next essential step is to provide the missing link, namely promotion and relegation from the National Premier into and out of the Championship.”