Report: 2025 World Cup on verge of collapse

[Big Picture]

Tony Grant's response to the question of whether the recent RL World Cup made a profit:

"The World Cup 2021 was never set up to make a profit. We're like a non-profit organisation.

"They've met their budget, received support from the UK government, which is significant, and I'm not sure if all the accounting reconciliations have been completed but the IRL's rights fee, as part of that budget, is being met.

"While the final accounting is still being done, it was an an enormous success. We had record levels of investment that came into the competition.

"But what we were challenged by was record expenses that exploded with inflation. Our airfares tripled in the last 18 months beforehand, and accommodation costs went through the roof.

"I guess the thing is that potential profit in the profit sense of the word didn't eventuate because of those factors, but all bills are paid, all commitments are made if that makes sense.

"It was a success but all the changes in economics probably, I think it's been estimated that it was around GBP11m impact on what could have additionally been made had prices remained stable from a couple of years before the inflationary pressures that occurred."

So it looks like inflation eliminated any profit which it might have made.

[Big Picture]

20 hours ago, pahars said:

Okey dokey chief. Morocco 2018 FIFA WC, 17 foreign born players out of 23. 73.9 % heritage players  

Wrong, 14 foreign born out of 26 and one of the 14 moved back to Morocco with his parents at the age of three and grew up there so he's not a heritage player.  I know the numbers because I checked every single player's bio on Wikipedia.  13 out of 26 is 50%.

And as I also pointed out, Morocco could have fielded a team without those 13 heritage players, whereas the countries which depend on heritage players in RL wouldn't have any team at all without them and that's not remotely the same as the situation in other sports, even including the others which also have questionable eligibility rules.

[GUBRATS]

2 minutes ago, Big Picture said:

Wrong, 14 foreign born out of 26 and one of the 14 moved back to Morocco with his parents at the age of three and grew up there so he's not a heritage player.  I know the numbers because I checked every single player's bio on Wikipedia.  13 out of 26 is 50%.

And as I also pointed out, Morocco could have fielded a team without those 13 heritage players, whereas the countries which depend on heritage players in RL wouldn't have any team at all without them and that's not remotely the same as the situation in other sports, even including the others which also have questionable eligibility rules.

So what % is ok ? , And what % isn't ? 

[pahars]

39 minutes ago, Big Picture said:

Wrong, 14 foreign born out of 26 and one of the 14 moved back to Morocco with his parents at the age of three and grew up there so he's not a heritage player.  I know the numbers because I checked every single player's bio on Wikipedia.  13 out of 26 is 50%.

And as I also pointed out, Morocco could have fielded a team without those 13 heritage players, whereas the countries which depend on heritage players in RL wouldn't have any team at all without them and that's not remotely the same as the situation in other sports, even including the others which also have questionable eligibility rules.

Why don’t you try reading the posts you are replying to? Check out the bio’s of the TWENTY THREE players in the 2018 WC not the 26 in 2022. 
 

 

[HawkMan]

Aussie Rules could have a world cup if it chooses. Australia is a country with plenty of diversity in its heritage of settlers. I'm sure there's Aussie Rules players with Italian,  Greek and Croatian heritage for starters. But would an Italian Aussie Rules team truly represent Italy, in a game  not exactly noted for being played in Italy. I expect there's dedicated individuals playing Aussie Rules playing in various countries all over, but a WC of Aussie Rules would seem daft and lack legitimacy. Now RL is NOT in that position,  it is played as a pro or semi pro sport in about 8 countries,  Aus,NZ  England, France,  and the colourful and wonderful Pacific Island countries, no problem. It is beyond that the problems are, it's a question of stretching credibility or legitimacy. It's a balance between including the minnows to enhance the game in said countries and at the same time avoiding blow outs that damage the WC as a top international event in the eyes of the watching curious. 16 teams is too much  by far, 10 is okay for me.

Edited May 22, 2023 by HawkMan

[GUBRATS]

4 minutes ago, HawkMan said:

Aussie Rules could have a world cup if it chooses. Australia is a country with plenty of diversity in its heritage of settlers. I'm sure there's Aussie Rules players with Italian,  Greek and Croatian heritage for starters. But would an Italian Aussie Rules team truly represent Italy, in a game  not exactly noted for being played in Italy. I expect there's dedicated individuals playing Aussie Rules playing in various countries all over, but a WC of Aussie Rules would seem daft and lack legitimacy. Now RL is NOT in that position,  it is played as a pro or semi pro sport in about 8 countries,  Aus,NZ  England, France,  and the colourful and wonderful Pacific Island countries, no problem. It is beyond that the problems are, it's a question of stretching credibility or legitimacy. It's a balance between including the minnows to enhance the game in said countries and at the same time avoiding blow outs that damage the WC as a top international event in the eyes of the watching curious. 16 teams is too much  by far, 10 is okay for me.

Where do FIFA get their money from ?

[HawkMan]

12 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

Where do FIFA get their money from ?

The WC . But RLWC doesn't make money. It's just been held in the heartlands and didn't make money,presumably,  because if it had we'd have heard all about it by now. However the RLWC evolves from here, as in where its held,  or how big etc , profit making should not be a driving factor.

Having said that, as someone previously said, take the Qatari money and run, is probably the thing to do.

Edited May 22, 2023 by HawkMan

[Man of Kent]

The reliably informed Phil Caplan says he’s heard it is most likely to be in New Zealand in 2025. 

[GUBRATS]

13 minutes ago, HawkMan said:

The WC . But RLWC doesn't make money. It's just been held in the heartlands and didn't make money,presumably,  because if it had we'd have heard all about it by now. However the RLWC evolves from here, as in where its held,  or how big etc , profit making should not be a driving factor.

Having said that, as someone previously said, take the Qatari money and run, is probably the thing to do.

They get it from International matches , our International matches don't make money as you correctly point out , so yes if sportswashing Quatar gets a shed load of money we take it 

[HawkMan]

35 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

They get it from International matches , our International matches don't make money as you correctly point out , so yes if sportswashing  Qatar gets a shed load of money we take it 

Yes even if there's bad press for going there, as the saying goes, no such thing  as good or bad publicity, just publicity. It'll raise the profile of the game by going to Qatar.

Edited May 22, 2023 by HawkMan

[Black Country Wire]

1 hour ago, HawkMan said:

Aussie Rules could have a world cup if it chooses. Australia is a country with plenty of diversity in its heritage of settlers. I'm sure there's Aussie Rules players with Italian,  Greek and Croatian heritage for starters. But would an Italian Aussie Rules team truly represent Italy, in a game  not exactly noted for being played in Italy. I expect there's dedicated individuals playing Aussie Rules playing in various countries all over, but a WC of Aussie Rules would seem daft and lack legitimacy. Now RL is NOT in that position,  it is played as a pro or semi pro sport in about 8 countries,  Aus,NZ  England, France,  and the colourful and wonderful Pacific Island countries, no problem. It is beyond that the problems are, it's a question of stretching credibility or legitimacy. It's a balance between including the minnows to enhance the game in said countries and at the same time avoiding blow outs that damage the WC as a top international event in the eyes of the watching curious. 16 teams is too much  by far, 10 is okay for me.

"Blowouts" don't seem to damage the reputation of tournaments in other sports so why should they do so for the RLWC?

[Veridical]

53 minutes ago, Black Country Wire said:

"Blowouts" don't seem to damage the reputation of tournaments in other sports so why should they do so for the RLWC?

Because they don’t make up a majority of all games in the most prominent international tournament in any other sport (to my knowledge) despite RL featuring a smaller pool of teams than most of them.

[Copa]

3 hours ago, HawkMan said:

Aussie Rules could have a world cup if it chooses. Australia is a country with plenty of diversity in its heritage of settlers. I'm sure there's Aussie Rules players with Italian,  Greek and Croatian heritage for starters. But would an Italian Aussie Rules team truly represent Italy, in a game  not exactly noted for being played in Italy. I expect there's dedicated individuals playing Aussie Rules playing in various countries all over, but a WC of Aussie Rules would seem daft and lack legitimacy. Now RL is NOT in that position,  it is played as a pro or semi pro sport in about 8 countries,  Aus,NZ  England, France,  and the colourful and wonderful Pacific Island countries, no problem. It is beyond that the problems are, it's a question of stretching credibility or legitimacy. It's a balance between including the minnows to enhance the game in said countries and at the same time avoiding blow outs that damage the WC as a top international event in the eyes of the watching curious. 16 teams is too much  by far, 10 is okay for me.

AFL has the International Cup and Australia can’t participate. Ireland does quite well in the tournament.

Edited May 22, 2023 by Copa

[RayCee]

1 hour ago, Copa said:

AFL has the International Cup and Australia can’t participate. Ireland does quite well in the tournament.

Do you think we should try that with RL? 

[Big Picture]

3 hours ago, Copa said:

AFL has the International Cup and Australia can’t participate. Ireland does quite well in the tournament.

That's because even an Australian team drawn entirely from their non-professional ranks would thrash even the best of the other teams, the gap in the standard of play is that wide.

Edited May 23, 2023 by Big Picture

[Anita Bath]

14 hours ago, GUBRATS said:

Where do FIFA get their money from ?

Very large sponsorship deals with world leading companies.

 

No eddie stobart trucks for FIFA

[ATLANTISMAN]

17 hours ago, Big Picture said:

Tony Grant's response to the question of whether the recent RL World Cup made a profit:

"The World Cup 2021 was never set up to make a profit. We're like a non-profit organisation.

"They've met their budget, received support from the UK government, which is significant, and I'm not sure if all the accounting reconciliations have been completed but the IRL's rights fee, as part of that budget, is being met.

"While the final accounting is still being done, it was an an enormous success. We had record levels of investment that came into the competition.

"But what we were challenged by was record expenses that exploded with inflation. Our airfares tripled in the last 18 months beforehand, and accommodation costs went through the roof.

"I guess the thing is that potential profit in the profit sense of the word didn't eventuate because of those factors, but all bills are paid, all commitments are made if that makes sense.

"It was a success but all the changes in economics probably, I think it's been estimated that it was around GBP11m impact on what could have additionally been made had prices remained stable from a couple of years before the inflationary pressures that occurred."

So it looks like inflation eliminated any profit which it might have made.

Complete window dressing as it includes HM Government monies in reality it made a thumping great loss.

The RLWC 2021 was an overstaffed car crash the ticketing was a fiasco and as for the legacy maybe just in a small way female and 100% wheelchair as for the main event it was a disaster poorly attended and with too many matches in the same venues.

 

 

[gingerjon]

4 minutes ago, ATLANTISMAN said:

Complete window dressing as it includes HM Government monies in reality it made a thumping great loss.

The RLWC 2021 was an overstaffed car crash the ticketing was a fiasco and as for the legacy maybe just in a small way female and 100% wheelchair as for the main event it was a disaster poorly attended and with too many matches in the same venues.

 

 

Government money was part of the income though.

The fact that the French can’t do the same is why this thread exists.

[Damien]

12 minutes ago, ATLANTISMAN said:

Complete window dressing as it includes HM Government monies in reality it made a thumping great loss.

The RLWC 2021 was an overstaffed car crash the ticketing was a fiasco and as for the legacy maybe just in a small way female and 100% wheelchair as for the main event it was a disaster poorly attended and with too many matches in the same venues.

You can't just dismiss Government money like that. It was part of the income and the budget and the tournament was planned accordingly. Without it things would have been done quite differently.

[Sports Prophet]

I consider it a disaster. We wonder why International RL is a joke, then it turns out the biggest international RL event can’t even turn a surplus, despite having received substantial government funding.

Pathetic really.

[Damien]

12 minutes ago, Sports Prophet said:

I consider it a disaster. We wonder why International RL is a joke, then it turns out the biggest international RL event can’t even turn a surplus, despite having received substantial government funding.

Pathetic really.

If it doesn't turn a surplus that is entirely caused by the years delay caused by Australia pulling out and the NRL withdrawing its support and putting pressure on players not to participate. That added to costs enormously.

If it break even and pays a rights fee to the IRL for the first time then that's a pretty good result all things considered.

[Tre Cool]

18 hours ago, Big Picture said:

Tony Grant's response to the question of whether the recent RL World Cup made a profit:

"The World Cup 2021 was never set up to make a profit. We're like a non-profit organisation.

"They've met their budget, received support from the UK government, which is significant, and I'm not sure if all the accounting reconciliations have been completed but the IRL's rights fee, as part of that budget, is being met.

"While the final accounting is still being done, it was an an enormous success. We had record levels of investment that came into the competition.

"But what we were challenged by was record expenses that exploded with inflation. Our airfares tripled in the last 18 months beforehand, and accommodation costs went through the roof.

"I guess the thing is that potential profit in the profit sense of the word didn't eventuate because of those factors, but all bills are paid, all commitments are made if that makes sense.

"It was a success but all the changes in economics probably, I think it's been estimated that it was around GBP11m impact on what could have additionally been made had prices remained stable from a couple of years before the inflationary pressures that occurred."

So it looks like inflation eliminated any profit which it might have made.

BS. Bad ticketing, bad stadium choices, poorly marketed and disappointing attendances.  

[Toby Chopra]

1 hour ago, Damien said:

If it doesn't turn a surplus that is entirely caused by the years delay caused by Australia pulling out and the NRL withdrawing its support and putting pressure on players not to participate. That added to costs enormously.

If it break even and pays a rights fee to the IRL for the first time then that's a pretty good result all things considered.

I'd say it's a bit of both.

Breaking even and not leaving any rugby stakeholders with debts, plus still delivering a staging fee to IRL, is an ok result.

And yes, most of the opportunity to make extra profits for the game disappeared with COVID and the cancellation.

But even after all that I believe missteps with the tournament when it finally did happen - which we've done to death on here - did mean we left some money on the table, and I hope we learn the lessons of that.

[Damien]

1 hour ago, Toby Chopra said:

I'd say it's a bit of both.

Breaking even and not leaving any rugby stakeholders with debts, plus still delivering a staging fee to IRL, is an ok result.

And yes, most of the opportunity to make extra profits for the game disappeared with COVID and the cancellation.

But even after all that I believe missteps with the tournament when it finally did happen - which we've done to death on here - did mean we left some money on the table, and I hope we learn the lessons of that.

Oh I've been vocal about the faults with the tournament on here and don't dispute them. Things could have been done much better. However they are ultimately small fry when talking about the finances compared to the years delay. To criticise the tournament for not making money and labeling it pathetic whilst ignoring that is disingenuous in my opinion.

[Henson Park Old Firm]

https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/warning-over-apparent-qatar-bid-for-2025-world-cup?fbclid=IwAR0lX5gcsKXZ_asRU1h56g55kmBG0e5ZAiSr4QTiDVB2F5AdOpYbQayoq0s