How To Attract New Ethnic Minorities To RL?

[Sports Prophet]

Interested to know if there is a great representation of ethnic minorities in your professional club’s area, what ethnicities they are and if you were in charge, how you would attract them to your club.

[Mr Plow]

Playing in schools would be a start. We have clubs in areas where there’s large Asian communities such as Bradford, Batley, Dewsbury, Oldham, could those clubs be doing more?

[Number 16]

A week or two ago someone posted a video link to the 1990 OT test in which Hanley, Offiah and Gibson played. Powell had played in the 1st test and on the 88 tour we'd enjoyed Henderson's boogie and Ford's great solo try. 

There are some iconic names there. 

Today, the landscape is different. For me, football eclipses all (at the expense of even cricket) and 'communities' are 'encouraged' to retain their own cultures. Maybe RL has suffered more than most due to the demographics of our heartland towns. 

That said, as pro and grassroot clubs in London have shown, a genuine and sustained commitment to development work in ethnically diverse areas can work. 

The 'secret' is hard work. But that's no different to any other area. 

[Eddie]

33 minutes ago, Mr Plow said:

I can’t think of anywhere with a large Chinese or Eastern European community that is bigger than the white British population

Beijing? Warsaw?

[Mr Frisky]

5 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

Interested to know if there is a great representation of ethnic minorities in your professional club’s area, what ethnicities they are and if you were in charge, how you would attract them to your club.

Can we not concentrate on attracting Majorities to our sport first? They should be the easiest to attract.

[Number 16]

1 hour ago, Mr Frisky said:

Can we not concentrate on attracting Majorities to our sport first? They should be the easiest to attract.

100%.

Development activities where they are most likely to be a success. As with London, often inner city with little competition other than soccer. But not targeted at race. RL for all. 

[GUBRATS]

More perhaps by community clubs , seen plenty of Polish immigrant names ( not even going to try and spell them ) come through the ranks to play pro from the Leigh area 

Maybe work to entice the Romanian population we now have to get their kids to sample RL 

[The Future is League]

Not easy i know, but we need to get more schools playing Rugby League.

Clubs need to run training clinics for free in school holidays.

We need more of one paying adult allowed to take in 2 under 16 children free.

Some clubs match day awareness is very poor and that needs to be improved.

[Henson Park Old Firm]

Maybe we should try and get polish companies to sponsor clubs... for example beer companies... or your local peirogi takeaway shop

[Copa]

Make them aware of it, make them feel welcome and provide a sense of belonging.

 

[Sports Prophet]

7 hours ago, Mr Frisky said:

Can we not concentrate on attracting Majorities to our sport first? They should be the easiest to attract.

That of course has merit, yet I would expect this is what has been attempted for over 120 years?

Perhaps that is part of the problem. Some of the majorities preferences are changing, especially the youth, who are predominantly in preference of inclusive environments and cultural experiences.

[Pulga]

16 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

and if you were in charge

This is the problem. 

If you want to see ethnic minorities getting into the game, roll your sleeves up and dive right in.

A great example is what Steve Warwick has done with the African community in Australia. 

https://www.theroar.com.au/2016/12/20/rugby-leagues-african-explosion/

Latin Heat has done something similar with the Latin American community and ASEAN RL with the Asian community.

It seems Australia is pulling its weight. England needs to step it up.

[Eddie]

3 hours ago, Henson Park Old Firm said:

Maybe we should try and get polish companies to sponsor clubs... for example beer companies... or your local peirogi takeaway shop

Zywiec would be a great sponsor, better than Cash Converters. 

[Phil]

As far as attracting the Muslim population goes the fact that most, I’d say all in fact amateur clubs are based at a pub is a huge problem, there’s a beer culture within our game which is simply not attractive to them. 

[The Future is League]

3 minutes ago, Phil said:

As far as attracting the Muslim population goes the fact that most, I’d say all in fact amateur clubs are based at a pub is a huge problem, there’s a beer culture within our game which is simply not attractive to them. 

You don't have to drink alcohol when you go into a pub. We need to get that message out there, but you make a valid point.

[Allora]

Never going to happen in large numbers, different outlook, different culture.

[Mr Frisky]

4 minutes ago, The Future is League said:

You don't have to drink alcohol when you go into a pub. We need to get that message out there, but you make a valid point.

I bet your local pub landlord loves you.......

[The Future is League]

1 minute ago, Mr Frisky said:

I bet your local pub landlord loves you.......

Every now and again i will go a week or two without having any alcohol and just have a couple of tonic waters with ice and slice when i go there, but he's alright about it, and he's still making money out of me as i eat there as well.

[Henson Park Old Firm]

2 hours ago, Eddie said:

Zywiec would be a great sponsor, better than Cash Converters. 

I'm more of Specjal Beer man... but seriously maybe that's the way forward super league clubs tapping into minorities via local companies.. perfect example is DACIA

[Eddie]

31 minutes ago, scotchy1 said:

This is the answer. Reach out to them and share the game with them.

This country however isnt a particularly welcoming one at the moment. Especially in northern towns and environs. 

And the community that is this game has a very vocal minority that really really isnt interested in sharing. 

There is resistance to the womens game, to different sexualities, to people actively making the effort like Toronto, there are people in our game that dont want to share it with london, reaching out wholesale to other communities is beyond us at the moment sadly

That’s incredibly negative Scotchy, there may be a few bigots about (as there are in all walks of life), but what you’ve said is incorrect in the main. 

[Sports Prophet]

36 minutes ago, scotchy1 said:

This is the answer. Reach out to them and share the game with them.

This country however isnt a particularly welcoming one at the moment. Especially in northern towns and environs. 

And the community that is this game has a very vocal minority that really really isnt interested in sharing. 

There is resistance to the womens game, to different sexualities, to people actively making the effort like Toronto, there are people in our game that dont want to share it with london, reaching out wholesale to other communities is beyond us at the moment sadly

I think you are right to a degree.

I read a statistic that the majority of the 12% year on year growth of minorities (there’s an oxymoron for you ) enrolled into Salford schools from 2009 - 2012 are of Eastern Europe or White Other backgrounds.

I then found three FB pages with just short of 1500 likes in Manchester that each targeted 1) Polish Manc’ Uni students 2) Russian speakers 3) Czech and Slovaks.

I can’t help but thinking Salford could reach out to these groups, searching for more of their like and developing an Eastern European themed round would be a simple, low expense way to engage with a new community. Offer 20 season tickets as prizes for members of the Facebook pages that attend.

Might need to remove the Russians from my above list for sensitive reasons

[WakefieldCityLoyal]

It’s all to do with cultures, it could work with Eastern European’s as they have a similar sporting culture to ourselves and some encouraging signs of kids from Eastern European decent playing the game.  Leeds RL have always had an historical link to the Jewish Community and drawn a lot of support from the Jewish community so that should be seen as a success.

[Oxford]

How To Attract New Ethnic Minorities To RL?

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Might be as well to see if, which and how many are left before applying targets, goals and strategies.

And the point about our base fan group not really being interested, or even more than that, was well made.

[Oxford]

Looking at it as a two way street sounds fine if you're reactive rather than proactive. Looking at engaging with and getting groups to engage in, especially where your geographical ethnicity groups have changed and in a period of falling participation, is key.

[Jill Halfpenny fan]

15 hours ago, Henson Park Old Firm said:

Maybe we should try and get polish companies to sponsor clubs...

Excellent idea, we could start with trying to get Pledge on board.