Carcassonne XIII confirms it wants to join English competition

[Harry Stottle]

3 hours ago, EggFace said:

I like the idea have a Elite 1 team in the Championship, League 1 or French conference or something.

Travel costs for English teams that will have very little funding, think again, unless the French pay for it !

[EggFace]

1 minute ago, Harry Stottle said:

Travel costs for English teams that will have very little funding, think again, unless the French pay for it !

I know but sounds good on paper...maybe that 1995 vision of a European Super League (s) might come to fruition in some way.

[Sports Prophet]

5 hours ago, Derwent Parker said:

Didn't IMG say no more than 2 non gb teams???

I hope not. That wouldn’t be very imaginative of a firm brought in for their great imagination and imaging.

[Big Picture]

1 hour ago, Sports Prophet said:

I hope not. That wouldn’t be very imaginative of a firm brought in for their great imagination and imaging.

They did though.  You're forgetting how little they have to work with here.

[Tex Evans Thigh]

2 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

I hope not. That wouldn’t be very imaginative of a firm brought in for their great imagination and imaging.

12 places, SL teams wont give up their share of the ever dwindling pie.

Aim to improve the international game i.e. get England/GB to a level where they can compete with Australia

Reduce top level English clubs with funding to support junior development and fanbases to 9. The lowest of all time

Introduce another French club that produces average players and doesnt bring a TV deal

How very unimaginative.

[Sports Prophet]

56 minutes ago, Tex Evans Thigh said:

12 places, SL teams wont give up their share of the ever dwindling pie.

Aim to improve the international game i.e. get England/GB to a level where they can compete with Australia

Reduce top level English clubs with funding to support junior development and fanbases to 9. The lowest of all time

Introduce another French club that produces average players and doesnt bring a TV deal

How very unimaginative.

Maybe what is unimaginative is the assertion there will only ever be 12 SL spaces and an ever dwindling pie.

Edited September 30, 2023 by Sports Prophet

[RayCee]

I'd like to see teams like Toulouse and Carcassonne twin with NRL clubs to get access to young players on the up and an old head or two for experience. The player pool isn't that healthy in the NH and they need to be successful pretty quickly as lingering in lower divisions is expensive for clubs not earning much.

[Tommygilf]

6 hours ago, Harry Stottle said:

Lost me, unless you mean like the "good samaritan" who was relatively poor we give what we have to a lost cause, granted Cats have done well, but it seems everyone just thinks that other French clubs will follow suit, you yourself has stated that the Rhinos do not get bigger attendances (about 11.5K home fans because of Uniteds popularity in a football town) T.O. is not just a football town it is a big union town, two big barriers to break down, they won't do it Tommy, and Carcassone is to small to make it big.

To me the proof is in the pudding, if they can afford a fully pro RL team, then they should be playing in the fully pro top flight league. If not, then their own semi pro domestic set up should be for them. Likewise, Catalans are the example of how to successfully support a new club in our league, its a travesty that successful model hasn't been repeated.

The parable of the good samaritan is that it isn't a lost cause and that by giving away you gain far more in return. Perhaps that was just my catholic primary education for you!

[Griff]

9 hours ago, Harry Stottle said:

Lost me, unless you mean like the "good samaritan" who was relatively poor we give what we have to a lost cause....

The Good Samaritan wasn't poor. He was a foreigner who helped an injured fella whose countrymen passed by on the other side of the road.

[barnyia]

10 hours ago, Harry Stottle said:

Travel costs for English teams that will have very little funding, think again, unless the French pay for it !

Carcassonne have to pay travel for the English teams just like toulouse. 

[ATLANTISMAN]

Here we go again just to make it very clear and not being negative here having been at the coalface for over 25 years a French TV deal for CASH will never happen at best TV will pay for production costs which hasn't happened now for a while.

Carcassonne go then we lose a couple of Aude derbies it would be better to simply have a Anglo French Cup every year.

P

[barnyia]

Carcassonne are being helped by the region and the town, they think they'll get a lot of English fans coming over and increase tourism, 

I don't think the rfl will accept them anyway, maybe the challenge cup and a European club tournament is the way forward for French clubs. 

[sam4731]

1 hour ago, ATLANTISMAN said:

Here we go again just to make it very clear and not being negative here having been at the coalface for over 25 years a French TV deal for CASH will never happen at best TV will pay for production costs which hasn't happened now for a while.

Carcassonne go then we lose a couple of Aude derbies it would be better to simply have a Anglo French Cup every year.

P

Just to build on this idea, why not invite the top 4 Elite 1 teams into the 1895 Cup. Get them to join the 4 remaining Champ/L1 from the CC for a QF. 2 double headers, 1 in GB and 1 in France.

[daz39]

Fantastic, why not it's a RL heartland area and a beautiful place to visit, although i'm sure bus loads of all inclusive Peeheads from Lloret will soon change that image.

[Harry Stottle]

4 hours ago, Tommygilf said:

To me the proof is in the pudding, if they can afford a fully pro RL team, then they should be playing in the fully pro top flight league. If not, then their own semi pro domestic set up should be for them. Likewise, Catalans are the example of how to successfully support a new club in our league, its a travesty that successful model hasn't been repeated.

The parable of the good samaritan is that it isn't a lost cause and that by giving away you gain far more in return. Perhaps that was just my catholic primary education for you!

We have one thing in common with your last sentence!

If you mean by the Catalan model excemption from relegation, then IMG may deliver that, but French teams have to get into SL first, I recall you are a big supporter of IMG's system, but will that have a caveat when it suits?

[Derwent Parker]

24 minutes ago, sam4731 said:

Just to build on this idea, why not invite the top 4 Elite 1 teams into the 1895 Cup. Get them to join the 4 remaining Champ/L1 from the CC for a QF. 2 double headers, 1 in GB and 1 in France.

Invite as many foreign teams in as you want - but put them in SL.

SL are the only ones with decent CF to afford it.

Keep them out of L1 - Or fund L1 properly

15k isn't enough to help with travel around UK never mind overseas

[Toby Chopra]

5 minutes ago, Derwent Parker said:

Invite as many foreign teams in as you want - but put them in SL.

SL are the only ones with decent CF to afford it.

Keep them out of L1 - Or fund L1 properly

15k isn't enough to help with travel around UK never mind overseas

Although I expect we're coming from very different viewpoints, for once I firmly agree with you.

No foreign team should be coming into the part-time UK structure, it doesn't do them, or the existing part-time teams any good.

If the funding can be found to put them into SL full-time then go for it. But no more mixing up of the two streams.

[Barley Mow]

5 minutes ago, Derwent Parker said:

Invite as many foreign teams in as you want - but put them in SL.

SL are the only ones with decent CF to afford it.

Keep them out of L1 - Or fund L1 properly

15k isn't enough to help with travel around UK never mind overseas

This is why we need the wider conversation than simply 'can Carcassonne enter the RFL system'.

We need the wider discussion on what that system should be because although there is a valid argument that French clubs shouldn't have to pay for British clubs to visit them, it is equally valid for the British clubs to not accept French clubs into their system if it will add extra costs that put their existence at risk.

People could suggest that the RFL cover travel costs, but what other pot would that money come from? If central funding would be further reduced to cover it, then clubs would still end up missing out.

The wider conversation about whether we have European or British competitions at various levels of the hierarchy would allow the funding issues to be addressed and hopefully a solution agreed.

[Derwent Parker]

1 minute ago, Barley Mow said:

This is why we need the wider conversation than simply 'can Carcassonne enter the RFL system'.

We need the wider discussion on what that system should be because although there is a valid argument that French clubs shouldn't have to pay for British clubs to visit them, it is equally valid for the British clubs to not accept French clubs into their system if it will add extra costs that put their existence at risk.

People could suggest that the RFL cover travel costs, but what other pot would that money come from? If central funding would be further reduced to cover it, then clubs would still end up missing out.

The wider conversation about whether we have European or British competitions at various levels of the hierarchy would allow the funding issues to be addressed and hopefully a solution agreed.

It already is affecting CF and looks like it may be even more - see link below

Super League clubs warned of potential funding cut after attendances spark losses (msn.com)

This refers to Catalan in 98 and potential GF losses, which will also apply to the idea by sam4731 and the 1895 cup

[audois]

Carcassonne have the 900,OOO euros in the bank presently, Co-President Joel Berger is saying for a Challenge Cup involement and for 2O25

Edited September 30, 2023 by audois

[Anita Bath]

league 1…no thank you….

 

We already have road trips to Cornwall, Newcastle, Workington, Birmingham in our 8 game away schedule. Maybe super league teams should go beyond the M62 corridor a bit more frequently.

[The Daddy]

3 hours ago, Anita Bath said:

league 1…no thank you….

 

We already have road trips to Cornwall, Newcastle, Workington, Birmingham in our 8 game away schedule. Maybe super league teams should go beyond the M62 corridor a bit more frequently.

If your team is unable to finance playing in a national or international competition they should do exactly what London Skolars did and go play in a regional league, it's that simple. 

Edited September 30, 2023 by The Daddy

[GUBRATS]

6 hours ago, ATLANTISMAN said:

Here we go again just to make it very clear and not being negative here having been at the coalface for over 25 years a French TV deal for CASH will never happen at best TV will pay for production costs which hasn't happened now for a while.

Carcassonne go then we lose a couple of Aude derbies it would be better to simply have a Anglo French Cup every year.

P

Start with an ' Easyjet ' 9 s tournament in northern Spain late January , I suggested Girona as a venue 20 years ago , but that would be unlikely with them being part of the ' City group ' of football teams now , I'm sure you'd have a better suggestion Paul with your local knowledge 

[Angelic Cynic]

5 hours ago, audois said:

Carcassonne have the 900,OOO euros in the bank presently, Co-President Joel Berger is saying for a Challenge Cup involement and for 2O25

They have just agreed to waste some.

https://treizemondial.fr/kevin-proctor-signe-a-carcassonne/

IMG should be sticking around with Super League for about another 10 years.

Unless Carcassonne have enough off field ticky boxes filled it may not be cost effective getting involved. 

[Damien]

6 hours ago, audois said:

Carcassonne have the 900,OOO euros in the bank presently, Co-President Joel Berger is saying for a Challenge Cup involement and for 2O25

Without funding coming in to cover costs every year that will soon disappear though. Its not really too much when it comes to traveling and competing in England.