Another international team/club interested in joining SL

[The Daddy]

That was one of the points raised by Nigel Wood in his public briefing last week which has now been reported in this week's editions of League Express and League Weekly.

According to the report there is interest from a number of parties in joining the league structure on of them is for an international club outside Europe.

Any idea who this might be?

Maybe Montreal? A South African team?

[Tommygilf]

I'd have thought USA or Canada would be the most likely places.

[The 4 of Us]

I don't mind all this jnternational interest and when younger was positively enthused by it. More internationals will lead to more interest and credibility in the media.

However! Mr Wood does seem to get distracted easily with the prospect of more foreign ventures and yet, I can't help feel the eyes are off the ball at home.

[Henson Park Old Firm]

Team from Scotland or Ireland would be nice...

[Tommygilf]

Team from Scotland or Ireland would be nice...

Hopefully the investment for these, especially a L1 side, would be able to be found from local sources.

To me everywhere where there is a pro-union club in Europe should be considered a potential target market.

[sweaty craiq]

A SL set up of two tens should have 3 French clubs in it. Toronto shouldn't get central funding as they could get a local tv deal and the money used to supply the travel needed to play there, same with the French clubs who should also attract tv money locally, maybe a reduced funding

[londonrlfan]

This is why we need a third professional competition, SL can't be expected to be a world league. Hopefully this NA competition can get up and running.

[JoneslessBishop]

Interesting development. Any new joiner needs all the due diligence. Toronto seems robust and anywhere outside Europe needs similar funding and travel costs covered.

Whilst this thread is focusing on a potential non-European joiner, the Irish RL did suggest they were 'knocking on the door' re League 1, and given the RLIF dignatories were all at the Ireland Russia qualifier in Bray, that does bode well for that. Would be very welcome to my mind.

[DeadShotKeen]

Toronto shouldn't get central funding as they could get a local tv deal and the money used to supply the travel needed to play there, same with the French clubs who should also attract tv money locally, maybe a reduced funding

 

That seems a bit backward.

 

They should all be centrally funded and any cash from TV deals those sides in overseas markets can generate split equally amongst all SL teams. That would seem to be the most progressive and equitable formula.

[DeadShotKeen]

SL can't be expected to be a world league.

 

Why not? The ease of modern air travel makes it viable. NFL, for example, haven't given up on the idea of a London team.

 

Any NA league at this time would be almost certain to get lost amongst the saturated North American sports market. You'd need massive funding to get it even minimal attention. RL needs to pool its resources and SL must seize on these opportunities.

[Tommygilf]

This is why we need a third professional competition, SL can't be expected to be a world league. Hopefully this NA competition can get up and running.

I think its either going to be an NARL or a southern European "Pro 12" style comp. With the former looking far more likely as a 3rd league at the moment.

[MZH]

Team from Scotland or Ireland would be nice...

I'd love a Scottish team to follow at any level. I stay in Falkirk, and if we could get a League 1 team in central Scotland (Edinburgh would be my preference) I'd be there every week, and I reckon I could nag a few other into going to have a look aswell.

Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be much appetite to do this.

[sweaty craiq]

That seems a bit backward.

 

They should all be centrally funded and any cash from TV deals those sides in overseas markets can generate split equally amongst all SL teams. That would seem to be the most progressive and equitable formula.

 

Not really, I believe with 3 French teams they will get a deal far higher than Cats get now from Sky and TV is Torontos strengths

[The Parksider]

This is why we need a third professional competition, SL can't be expected to be a world league. 

 

It certainly can't, if we want international competition to be the games strength, then we need more competitions in countries. Then a canadian league can create a proper Canadian team.

 

This is how Union did it, they grew domestic leagues to then be able to get more genuine international sides on the park. 

 

Why not? The ease of modern air travel makes it viable. NFL, for example, haven't given up on the idea of a London team.

 

Any NA league at this time would be almost certain to get lost amongst the saturated North American sports market. You'd need massive funding to get it even minimal attention. RL needs to pool its resources and SL must seize on these opportunities.

 

Toronto are already draining England of talent where they can albeit at low level. We shall see whether the English fans will be stimulated by an English/Aussie Toronto team, or whether Toronto and Toulouse become as unattractive a fixture as the catalans are over here.

 

We've already lost big derby crowds as HKR and Bradford slide out of the Superleague, Let's lose Wakefield too and maybe lose the Calder derby crowds. Bums on seats matter big time and as your "World League" progresses crowds will regress.

 

Then there's SKY, how do we sell a world league to them? Will TV viewing figures here go down as all these overseas sides start entering? 

 

I know you'd throw away what we have on any vague chance of the game taking off, but not for me good sir.

[Oxford]

No one is throwing away what we have of course.

 

And it is a gamble of that there is no doubt.

 

Placing together the loss of the Bulls v Rhinos derby with developments around Toronto is the worse kind of argumentative gymnastics they are not related! They are coincidental and although there are problem areas with both it's a bit of silly stage management and bad script writing to link them in this way.

 

Interest levels in the game are certain to rise because of this kind of event and the more we can get them to join the more interest we'll have.  You only have to look at the response on this forum to realise this.

[Blind side johnny]

That was one of the points raised by Nigel Wood in his public briefing last week which has now been reported in this week's editions of League Express and League Weekly.

According to the report there is interest from a number of parties in joining the league structure on of them is for an international club outside Europe.

Any idea who this might be?

Maybe Montreal? A South African team?

 

 

 

La La Land seems favourite.

[NickG14]

This is why we need a third professional competition, SL can't be expected to be a world league. Hopefully this NA competition can get up and running.

A third league would probably be the new league being set up in the USA by Moore Sports. Although SL could be international, at the first Toronto press conference they said that the east coast of North America could have SL teams and the West coast could have NRL teams. Personally I would like to see a European team from the mainland or Scotland or Ireland and a pro league for North America so we would have SL (Europe) NRL (Asia/ Pacific) USARL (North America)

[damp squib]

This is why we need a third professional competition, SL can't be expected to be a world league. Hopefully this NA competition can get up and running.

 

On the contrary I think we could, and should, start seeing SL as a Champions League style elite northern hemisphere similar to the Euroleague in basketball. We can't afford to turn away financially viable teams that could expand the game but similarly there are not enough of them to form their own national leagues.

 

As for the OP, my first thoughts were also the rumors of an Irish CC1 team based out of Bray, although I had always dismissed them as the typical RL Chinese whispers we hear on this forum all the time. Although it would be typical that just after I move a League 1 club starts up 20 minutes from my old house...

[redjonn]

mmmm I keep thinking having read the above.....  x3 french teams, a scottish team, an irish team, canadian team ....so thats x6... leaving how many heartland as in England SL.... now of course we also want expansion out of the heartlands into other parts of England....

 

great we reduce the number of heartlands clubs at our (as in hemisphere) pinnacle of the game to a handful.... is that want people are suggesting

 

Personally I like the thought of expansion but where ever it is their needs to be a playing base at all levels of the game.  

[damp squib]

I think the idea is that all these new clubs should bring a lot of additional money into the game which can be fed down to the CC to make it a second full time league for players who don't quite make SL. The net result would be a higher quality SL and CC with more professional opportunities than ever for heartlands players.

 

Whether it would actually work like that or not is a different story.

[Oxford]

mmmm I keep thinking having read the above.....  x3 french teams, a scottish team, an irish team, canadian team ....so thats x6... leaving how many heartland as in England SL.... now of course we also want expansion out of the heartlands into other parts of England....

 

great we reduce the number of heartlands clubs at our (as in hemisphere) pinnacle of the game to a handful.... is that want people are suggesting

 

Personally I like the thought of expansion but where ever it is their needs to be a playing base at all levels of the game.  

Well now we can add strange mathematics to the mix. Redjohn you just made up six imaginary places that would be a supposed threat to the heartlands.

 

But lets just suppose there were six real clubs so six real homeland were under threat. There are a thousand responses to all this happening that could make it work in a different way than it does at present. SL Conferences would be one example where teams from both could work and be part of something very special indeed.

 

"Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

[redjonn]

 

Well now we can add strange mathematics to the mix. Redjohn you just made up six imaginary places that would be a supposed threat to the heartlands.

 

But lets just suppose there were six real clubs so six real homeland were under threat. There are a thousand responses to all this happening that could make it work in a different way than it does at present. SL Conferences would be one example where teams from both could work and be part of something very special indeed.

 

"Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

 

 

I was being a little flippant, based on all the possible teams people would like to see in SL mentioned in this thread - plus I don't think I actually counted all of them.

 

Personally as I said I like the idea of expansion. I just think we need to extend into new markets when the current foundation is strengthened.   Now that does not mean that those current clubs are kept at all costs. I guess its a matter of timing, that is strengthen the core, then expand.

 

I just think the core is too weak to focus too heavily on expansion. Although I can see the counter-point. 

[themainbrace]

This could be an exciting story, but 'outside europe' is fairly vague.  The reality suggests that it is hard to create a successful Super League club outside the North of England.  Catalans appear to be the one exception as they finish in the top six fairly regularly.

[DeadShotKeen]

It certainly can't, if we want international competition to be the games strength, then we need more competitions in countries. Then a canadian league can create a proper Canadian team.

 

This is how Union did it, they grew domestic leagues to then be able to get more genuine international sides on the park. 

 

 

Toronto are already draining England of talent where they can albeit at low level. We shall see whether the English fans will be stimulated by an English/Aussie Toronto team, or whether Toronto and Toulouse become as unattractive a fixture as the catalans are over here.

 

We've already lost big derby crowds as HKR and Bradford slide out of the Superleague, Let's lose Wakefield too and maybe lose the Calder derby crowds. Bums on seats matter big time and as your "World League" progresses crowds will regress.

 

Then there's SKY, how do we sell a world league to them? Will TV viewing figures here go down as all these overseas sides start entering? 

 

I know you'd throw away what we have on any vague chance of the game taking off, but not for me good sir.

 

Only the very worst kind of backward-thinking reactionary could look at developments in Toronto and make their first observation to be that "they are draining England of talent". There is really no response needed to that. It sums you and the typical heartland English RL fan up quite beautifully.

[DeadShotKeen]

Personally as I said I like the idea of expansion. I just think we need to extend into new markets when the current foundation is strengthened.   

 

What does this mean in practice?

 

Haven't we tried at every single turn over the last 20+ years to "strengthen our foundations"? 

 

At what point do you look at the overall situation and come to the conclusion that the sport's outward reach at elite level is simply nowhere near wide enough to push the sport forward (or even maintain its status quo)?