Reviving the RL Development Fund

[langpark]

For those unfamiliar, the Rugby League Development Fund was an initiative started by a group of fans (via the RL Planet website) that raised funds, mostly through a membership scheme and every so often would make a donation to a developing RL nation.  I think it ran for about 5 years before eventually fading away for a number of reasons.

It often gets brought up by many of us on here, how great it would be to get something like this going again.  I believe a few people from here were involved:  @Gomersall and @deluded pom? and probably some others.

So this is an initial post to gauge interest to see how many people would be interested in joining such a scheme if the idea were to be revived again? 

One suggestions I have on how it could work:  We gather a bunch of people in developing nations, and each one provides a monthly update of what is going on in their nation.  This could be exclusive content for members (maybe via Patreon or one of those sites).  Membership could be as little as £5 a month and then once a certain amount is accumulated (say every £1000) then a donation is made to a certain country.

Would like to hear other people's thoughts on this and maybe if someone from TRL can comment as well?  If it were a TRL-endorsed initiative, it would give it a lot more credibility too.

[Whippet13]

Good idea and I'd be interested, a little money can go a long way in some countries. It would need someone to organise it, manage the funds and provide governance at relavant points. Might also help to consider why it faded last time, any lessons learned.

[going for the corner]

It’s a great idea and something similar for Creating new junior grassroots clubs in the UK should be looked at as well.

try and get new clubs up and running in expansion areas like the north east, Nottinghamshire, Manchester and wales etc.

[iangidds]

Well I'm in , I coach tivat arsenal rugby league club in Montenegro,  we are in the Balkan super league.  It's under 3 hours flight from the UK and they are desperately looking to increase sports tourism here ; we are located at www.portomontenegro.com which is an amazing destination. 

There are alot of deserving clubs all over Europe so if you want to help any club not just here in Montenegro get on and do so ! Rugby league only can look after itself! History has taught us most are strongly against us and will do nothing to assist in the growth of the game.

[Eddie]

I’d be happy to put a fiver a month in. 

[iangidds]

Why don't we call it the 40/20 club ? 40 people putting 20 quid in a month ? 

[iangidds]

We raise nearly 10k a year and choose a new club each year to help

[Gomersall]

1 hour ago, iangidds said:

We raise nearly 10k a year and choose a new club each year to help

10k is very, very ambitious Ian. 

Edited March 24 by Gomersall

[Adelaide Tiger]

2 hours ago, iangidds said:

Why don't we call it the 40/20 club ? 40 people putting 20 quid in a month ? 

Count me in if you do this.  Surely 40 people can be persuaded to contribute £20 a month.  Or attract a greater number if some people can only contribute less than £20.

Quick question.  Was the original RL Development Fund created just to offer financial assistance or did it offer other assistance in how to assist in the sustainability of clubs? 

[Goole91]

I'm in. Choosing the correct clubs/countries to invest the money in is key however. 

Start up clubs is surely the target?

[langpark]

1 minute ago, Goole91 said:

I'm in. Choosing the correct clubs/countries to invest the money in is key however. 

Start up clubs is surely the target?

Not necessarily. In fact, I'd be going for clubs with a proven track record, that is then looking to expand. For example, team in country X, their men's team is going well and looking to expand and add a youth or women's team. 

Start-ups can be risky. I have seen so many attempts, that have just fizzled. So orobably better to invest in some that already have some runs on the board, which is a sign of persistence. Persistence is the #1 requirement for long-term survival. 

Anyway, this is very much step 2 and 3 things we are discussing now. Better if we keep gauging interest and then working towards getting it up and running. 

[Gomersall]

36 minutes ago, Adelaide Tiger said:

Count me in if you do this.  Surely 40 people can be persuaded to contribute £20 a month.  Or attract a greater number if some people can only contribute less than £20.

Quick question.  Was the original RL Development Fund created just to offer financial assistance or did it offer other assistance in how to assist in the sustainability of clubs? 

Basically to offer financial assistance AT. It always went to the NGB rather than individual clubs but if we want to change that policy it’s something to talk about as and when. We went down the NGB path because the people we were dealing with were well known to internationalists and could be trusted. Handling over a relatively decent sum of money to someone you know nothing about, however honest they are, is a different kettle of fish.

Edited March 24 by Gomersall

[Phil]

I’m up for it 

[ATLANTISMAN]

10 hours ago, iangidds said:

Well I'm in , I coach tivat arsenal rugby league club in Montenegro,  we are in the Balkan super league.  It's under 3 hours flight from the UK and they are desperately looking to increase sports tourism here ; we are located at www.portomontenegro.com which is an amazing destination. 

There are alot of deserving clubs all over Europe so if you want to help any club not just here in Montenegro get on and do so ! Rugby league only can look after itself! History has taught us most are strongly against us and will do nothing to assist in the growth of the game.

Are you near the sea Ian.

Our eldest is currently living and working in Tblisi (For obvious reasons) we were thinking of relocating him and his girlfriend in Montenegro.

P

 

[Goole91]

5 hours ago, langpark said:

Not necessarily. In fact, I'd be going for clubs with a proven track record, that is then looking to expand. For example, team in country X, their men's team is going well and looking to expand and add a youth or women's team. 

Start-ups can be risky. I have seen so many attempts, that have just fizzled. So orobably better to invest in some that already have some runs on the board, which is a sign of persistence. Persistence is the #1 requirement for long-term survival. 

Anyway, this is very much step 2 and 3 things we are discussing now. Better if we keep gauging interest and then working towards getting it up and running. 

Yeah that's a fair comment. If a team has been around for 5 years, to me, they've done the leg work and our money would be better spent elsewhere. Those first 5 years are the hardest to establish a team, get through them and longevity looks good. 

Adding a youth and junior, section is always worth investing in. Id rather see developing countries focusing on this to be honest. Norway are taking this approach to a degree.

[iangidds]

7 hours ago, Gomersall said:

10k is very, very ambitious Ian. 

Possibly but between us it's a very small amount,  maybe we stop been a talking shop and decide to actually do something.  That's not directed at you but at the people who talk rather than act . 

[iangidds]

30 minutes ago, ATLANTISMAN said:

Are you near the sea Ian.

Our eldest is currently living and working in Tblisi (For obvious reasons) we were thinking of relocating him and his girlfriend in Montenegro.

P

 

Yes next to the adriatic sea , slightly better than Batley Brook! It's certainly a good place to live 

[welshmagpie]

7 minutes ago, iangidds said:

Yes next to the adriatic sea , slightly better than Batley Brook! It's certainly a good place to live 

You still on the lookout for players to come over Ian? 

On the note of the RLDF - yep I’m in!

[iangidds]

2 minutes ago, welshmagpie said:

You still on the lookout for players to come over Ian? 

On the note of the RLDF - yep I’m in!

Always on the look out for players

[iangidds]

9 minutes ago, iangidds said:

Always on the look out for players

Especially pack players

[Gomersall]

I reckon 9/10 are up for this so far.

[Eddie]

There’s a lot of people on this forum who spend a lot of time taking about what ‘we’ should be doing to expand the game, hopefully some of them will be happy to chip a few quid in each month. Its really not a lot individually to many people but if there are 15-20 people involved it would make a massive difference to a club. 

[Futtocks]

Two things are important:

1. Keeping the interest alive and growing the number of contributors as time goes by.
2. Agreeing on the right target each time.

The first needs constant work, which we can all chip in with as long as it is co-ordinated and effort isn't wasted or counterproductive. The second will require a transparent selection system, as we all know RL fans will fight like a sack of cats over virtually anything.

You could count me in for a monthly tithe, no problem.

[langpark]

Ok, so it seems there is interest is there.  Which is great to see!  So I suppose the main question now is how do we get it started and under what 'banner'?  TRL perhaps?  Euro Rugby League could be another option?  Like how a lot of Super League clubs have a foundation of their own, perhaps this could be something like an ERL foundation of sorts?  I am just brainstorming, happy to hear other suggestions.

[Goole91]

1 hour ago, langpark said:

Ok, so it seems there is interest is there.  Which is great to see!  So I suppose the main question now is how do we get it started and under what 'banner'?  TRL perhaps?  Euro Rugby League could be another option?  Like how a lot of Super League clubs have a foundation of their own, perhaps this could be something like an ERL foundation of sorts?  I am just brainstorming, happy to hear other suggestions.

Does this suggest it's restricted to donating to European teams only though? 

Will it be classed as a charity of some sort?