Canadian team apply to join Championship 1 (merged threads)

[weloveyouwakefield2]

Wow!

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/sport/town/workington-and-whitehaven-could-face-canada-opposition-1.1168009

NL1 here they come!

[yipyee]

If its good enough for the nfl then....

[winnyason]

I would imagine toulouse will be watching this development with interest.

[Copa]

Wow

[Copa]

It will be interesting to see how the whole P&R business works with them. In some regards it stifles international growth but it's also part and parcel of UK sport.

[yipyee]

It will be interesting to see how the whole P&R business works with them. In some regards it stifles international growth but it's also part and parcel of UK sport.

how would it stifle international growth?

[thundergaz]

I personally don't see how this can work. When Toulouse was in the championship they struggled with the traveling etc. how can semi pro players travel to Canada to play rugby as its a lot further than Toulouse lol. Will their jobs allow them to? Also can you imagine the Canadian team traveling over here every other week? Lol they will soon get fed up I'm sure.

[Copa]

how would it stifle international growth?

lots of people used to a franchise system think the only comp to watch is the elite comp. Relegation in a niche sport could make access to money for international travel very difficult.

[yipyee]

lots of people used to a franchise system think the only comp to watch is the elite comp. Relegation in a niche sport could make access to money for international travel very difficult.

The plan is to start at the bottom... sensible as looking at Cru they had more fans when they were winning in league1 than when they were losing in the championship...

it looks like they are hoping for 10k fans in champ1...imagine if they build to SL....

[Copa]

The plan is to start at the bottom... sensible as looking at Cru they had more fans when they were winning in league1 than when they were losing in the championship...

it looks like they are hoping for 10k fans in champ1...imagine if they build to SL....

if they can overcome the clash of sporting cultures and get the finances, best of luck to them.

[keighley]

The fact that they think p and r is an interesting concept unique in North American terms and that it would suit them to start at the bottom and build will upset quite a few diehard SL supporters on this board.

 

I don't know if they have any idea of the travel costs but its around 800 to a 1,000 dollars per person unless they are looking to charter a low cost plane.

 

It certainly is an interesting and very novel development for out game. I will await developments with interest. Toronto has a population of 7 million so there's plenty of spare spectators and Canadians love violent contact sports like ice hockey and Canadian football.

[DiH68]

I personally don't see how this can work. When Toulouse was in the championship they struggled with the traveling etc. how can semi pro players travel to Canada to play rugby as its a lot further than Toulouse lol. Will their jobs allow them to? Also can you imagine the Canadian team traveling over here every other week? Lol they will soon get fed up I'm sure.

The article says they would stay in the UK for blocks of six or seven weeks, then play six or seven games in a row at home. How these players could get six weeks off work at a time though, I don't know....unless they are going to be professional RL players

[Wellsy4HullFC]

The article says they would stay in the UK for blocks of six or seven weeks, then play six or seven games in a row at home. How these players could get six weeks off work at a time though, I don't know....unless they are going to be professional RL players

That's the only thing I could think of. Surely they couldn't be full time at that level?

[BatleyFanAndy]

That's the only thing I could think of. Surely they couldn't be full time at that level?

If they're getting 10,000 home supporters as projected, I don't see why not.

As I've posted on another thread about this matter though, isn't ours a European competition?

[Copa]

Could the tv ratings they are getting fund a fulltime squad?

[winnyason]

Look i am a little sceptical on concept, currently canada has 10 clubs. Now maybe a conference north america, the usarl is on the up with tv coverage of there grand final.

Jamacia seems to have huge potential watched there game v canada this year improved alot, they are big units.

Canada needs to continue to develop, i think any other additions to rfl p &r should be new areas of england, or expansion teams from wales, scotland, ireland and the toulouse bid.

[Guest]

Let's be honest this is all pie in the sky stuff, if a multi-billion dollar sport like the NFL can see the cost and logistics as a potential nightmare for a London based NFL side how on earth can a proposed NL1 side manage? That being said its all very positive news comming out of Canada which in my opinion has huge RL potential both domestically and internationally what with teams in British Columbia and Ontario along with the great crowds for the Canadian national side.

[Rascal Bongo Stork]

I'd love this to come off, I doubt it will happen but it'd be great if it did. I think it is doable if they have the money  they say they do. Rather than just reject it as being farfetched, let's run with it - what's the worse that can happen? Even if they lasted one season that'd be one season of big crowds watching RL in Canada and TV exposure.And a substantially larger media profile here for our third division.

With their projected crowds and their sponsorship their players would be full time no problem. It wouldnt be a job for a man with a family but I'm sure most young single men looking to get into pro sport wouldnt bat an eyelid at the ocean hopping schedule. As for the Champ 1 players playing away in Toronto - I'm sure most of them could manage to book 2 or 3 days leave from work, they'd have loads of notice of when the fixture was. There would be an issue in any end of season playoffs though but the boost to the game in Canada could be immeasurable.  There are obviously lots of hurdles and they'll probably be rejected but come on, let's live a little!

The only question for me is how to casually drop it into the conversation at home that I fancy going watch the Stags away at *mumble cough mumble*

[scotchy]

Probably happen when we get the southern orcas in from NZ and the Rhinos in from SA. Sponsors from NZ, SA, and Canada are gagging for the exposure that only a game in front of a couple of hundred in some backwater in the north of England can provide

[Rascal Bongo Stork]

Probably happen when we get the southern orcas in from NZ and the Rhinos in from SA. Sponsors from NZ, SA, and Canada are gagging for the exposure that only a game in front of a couple of hundred in some backwater in the north of England can provide

If they can get sponsors on board for 7,8,9,10k crowds in Toronto and TV audiences much higher than that then it doesnt really matter how many they're playing in front of in England. Their sponsors arent selling to people in Keighley, they're selling to people in Ontario. Plus if they came in and it actually worked I would guess they wouldn't be in Championship 1 for very long

[Total Rugby League]

<p><strong>The RFL has received an application from Rugby League Canada to enter a team based in Toronto into the Kingstone Press League One competition from the 2016 season.</strong></p>

<p>And their proposal, with an offer to sponsor the competition as a whole, was put forward at a meeting of Championship clubs in Leeds last Wednesday.</p>

<p>Eric Perez, the Chairman of Rugby League Canada, is confident that the globalisation of Rugby League competitions is the way forward.</p>

<h3 style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://totalrl.com/le" target="_blank"><strong>This article originally appeared in this week’s edition of League Express newspaper. Click here to download the digital version to your computer, smartphone or tablet</strong></a></h3>

<p>“We are proposing to create the first transcontinental sports team – the first North American side in a European league. It will open up markets that were unthinkable recently,” Perez told League Express.</p>

<p>“For the last four years we have been playing international matches in Toronto and we are now averaging almost 7,000 for every Test,” said Perez.</p>

<p>“We also have our own TV programme ‘The Rugby League Show’ which has 90,000 viewers every week and reaches 170,000 for our Test matches,” he added.</p>

<p>“We have sponsorship deals with Fosters (brewery) and other major companies, and we have a business plan that will enable us to offer free travel to Canada for our opponents and free accommodation when they get to Toronto.</p>

<h3 style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://totalrl.com/socialmedia" target="_blank"><strong>For the latest updates and breaking news, follow us on the social media platform of your choice</strong></a></h3>

<p>“We will fly them out on a Thursday, play on Saturday and they will fly back on Sunday, all expenses paid.</p>

<p>“And we will give each club a block of seats in the stand, and if they can sell those tickets, any money they make will go back into their club.”</p>

<h4><a href="http://totalrl.com/le" target="_blank"><strong>To read the rest of this article, click here.</strong></a></h4>

<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.totalrl.com/toronto-rugby-league-canada-league-one-england/">Canadians seek to join League One in 2016</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.totalrl.com">Rugby League news and Super League scores | Total Rugby League</a>.</p>

View the full article on TotalRL.com

[oldham13]

News reports are suggesting the RFL have received an application from a Canadian Rugby League team based in Toronto to join Championship one in 2016.

 

RUGBY LEAGUE EXCLUSIVE:

.

The seven-man consortium has put forward an application to join the Rugby Football League and the subject was well-received at a meeting of Championships representatives in Leeds.

One of the seven businessmen in the consortium, Eric Perez, told News & Star Sport: “Rugby league didn’t exist in Canada four years ago.

“In 2010, my business partner and I were working in Birmingham. We watched the game on Sky TV and thought what an incredible game this is – the best.

“When we returned home, without any supporters, players, kit or stadium we challenged the USA to a game. And within six weeks, we got together the players and lost the game by just one try in front of 1,200 spectators.

“From there, the game has gone from strength-to-strength.

“We are now averaging almost 7,000 for every Test and have our own TV programme ‘The Rugby League Show’ which has 90,000 viewers every week and 170,000 per Test match,” he added.

“We have excellent corporate sponsorship deals with companies such as Fosters (brewery) and Booster Juice (a giant Canadian smoothies company) and a lot of people will look at this and think ‘How are teams going to be able to afford to play in Canada’. The answer to that is easy – it will not cost them a penny.

“We will fly them out on a Thursday, play on Saturday and they will fly back on Sunday, all expenses paid.

“And they will even have the chance to make money – we will give each club a block of seats in the stand, and any ticket money that’s made will go back to the club.

“It’s an opportunity for the clubs to offer travel packages and make money.

“We are also offering to sponsor the competition to the tune of £200,000.”
The consortium has been working on the proposal with the RFL for more than 12 months and coming into the game at League One level is not going to put the dampeners on the application.

Perez added: “Going into League One can give us time to build, find our feet, gain promotion and prove our worth to the game. We would stay in the UK for a block of six or seven games and then travel home to play six or seven games there.

“The idea of promotion and relegation is intriguing to Canadian fans. We don’t have that here. All the major sports, ice hockey, baseball, basketball and Major League Soccer, are franchise-lead. Sometimes teams don’t worry about doing so well because they know they’ll be there in the league next season.”

Town vice-chairman Mark Fryer was excited at the proposal, and said: “I’ve spoken to Eric and he has a passion for the game.

“They have some serious business backing and it could be a fantastic opportunity for rugby league itself.

“I’m positive about it but we have to be realistic and work it through.

“The worst thing that can happen is for them to gain membership and be gone in a couple of years.”

An RFL spokesman said: “We have received an application from a Canadian consortium to enter a team into League 1 [the current Championship 1] in the 2016 season.

“The consortium delivered a presentation to the Championship clubs at a meeting in Leeds, on Wednesday, which was well-received by the club representatives present.

“The RFL will now produce a report into the proposal for consideration by the governing body’s independent board of directors who will make the final decision.”

 

 

 

"going to the match dear, see you next week"

 

 

[shrek]

Great to see interest in the sport in Canada, but I can't see how you can have part time lads jumping on a flight over the Atlantic for a game, certainly would give a "home" advantage if clubs tried to go there and back in a weekend!

[Tonka]

Can this bit really be true?

 

"We have excellent corporate sponsorship deals with companies such as Fosters (brewery) and Booster Juice (a giant Canadian smoothies company) and a lot of people will look at this and think ‘How are teams going to be able to afford to play in Canada’. The answer to that is easy – it will not cost them a penny.

“We will fly them out on a Thursday, play on Saturday and they will fly back on Sunday, all expenses paid.

“And they will even have the chance to make money – we will give each club a block of seats in the stand, and any ticket money that’s made will go back to the club"

[Bearman]

It'll be rubbish, no meat and potato pies, no real ale and the number 16 bus doesn't go there. If you think I'm changing bus' at Piccadilly you've got another think coming.