Minnow nations (coronavirus effect)

[langpark]

French League and Super League were suspended already.  Aside from them I have seen announcements from Netherlands, Serbia and Greece.  Rotterdam 9s is officially cancelled as is the Greece vs Serbia women's match (both were scheduled for 11th of April).

Now, I am getting a bit tired of hearing about millionaire players and administrators and how they are going to survive.  We should be more concerned about how a lot of these tier 2-3 (and below) nations are going to survive.  I know very little can be done right now, as no-one knows how long this will go on for.  But we should already be thinking about how we can help those nations as soon as this thing is over.  Beyond the economics of it all, there is also the momentum being halted, which for nations that are in their very early stages, is very crucial, and some nations might not ever recover from it. 

I don't want the history books showing that 2020 was the year RL died in several nations!

[unapologetic pedant]

1 hour ago, langpark said:

French League and Super League were suspended already.  Aside from them I have seen announcements from Netherlands, Serbia and Greece.  Rotterdam 9s is officially cancelled as is the Greece vs Serbia women's match (both were scheduled for 11th of April).

Now, I am getting a bit tired of hearing about millionaire players and administrators and how they are going to survive.  We should be more concerned about how a lot of these tier 2-3 (and below) nations are going to survive.  I know very little can be done right now, as no-one knows how long this will go on for.  But we should already be thinking about how we can help those nations as soon as this thing is over.  Beyond the economics of it all, there is also the momentum being halted, which for nations that are in their very early stages, is very crucial, and some nations might not ever recover from it. 

I don't want the history books showing that 2020 was the year RL died in several nations!

Those club chairmen saying in the media that the "sport" is threatened really mean their business is threatened. Of course there are costs involved at every level, but the smaller they are the more manageable this crisis should be. In RL nations like Serbia, Turkey, Greece all they have is the desire to play or be involved in the game. There`s no reason why after a pause or a period of reduced activity, they shouldn`t be able to pick up more or less where they left off, in the way everyone in every enterprise will have to. And there`s no reason to think they won`t have that desire.

[langpark]

Good point, but with the global financial crisis that is expected to immediately follow this, we might see a bigger strain on them and players having to ditch RL for their jobs.  But I suppose that is always an ongoing threat to survival of fragile teams/countries.

 

[Futtocks]

In a lot of these "minnow" countries, the financial stakes involved in running RL are very small. They're almost 100% played/run by amateurs with day jobs, so picking up the pieces could be less painful than countries where clubs pay players, staff, stadium upkeep and many other overheads.

They usually also have a small number of teams, so a season can be suspended, then resumed and still be played in full without fixture congestion. No, it won't be pleasant, but semi-pro- and pro teams are probably going to find it harder to survive the crisis.

[ATLANTISMAN]

Just really hope that everything will work out OK I was planning a Rugby League feast in October/November going to watch some of the 2/3/4th tier nations play for me ITS THE BEST PART OF THE SEASON:)

 

Paul

[Man in red]

Some of the teams based in big cities will struggle in that they are heavily reliant on 'imports' from other countries.  Each year they have to rebuild as some players return home.  A long break plus the impact of Corona virus on movement and job opportunities will make it tough to regroup.