£10m to spend

[Eddie]

If you had £10m to invest in growing rugby league in a particular country, which country would it be and what would you do? 

[Eddie]

For the record I haven’t got £10m to invest in rugby league so this isn’t me looking for ideas about what to do with it! 

[up the robins]

10 million really wouldn't go very far in any new country to rugby league, but think it would be enough to try and Wales more involved.

A team in South Wales if it was run well and competitive in the league may attract good support, and with a plethora of young union players to convert.

As for a new venture probably needing more than 10 million, i would give Nigeria a try.

A well populated country on the rise with expats all over the world, a potentially completely new audience. Nigerians generally look quite big and physically strong and very competitive by nature, think they would take to rugby league quite well and lead to potentially other African countries competing.

[Celtic Roosters]

If I had 10 million to throw at RL I would likely be a billionaire anyway. I would bring the ground at my local amateur club up to Championship standards and invite Swinton to play there - a bit closer to Swinton than they are now. Anything left over would be spent on developing the amateur club further and taking the players and volunteers on a end of season jaunt somewhere hot.

Edited March 12 by Celtic Roosters

[Hanover XIII]

Wales for me despite all the efforts that have been made in the past. Properly funded development officers, training camps and pathways into the existing team and a new South Wales venture. There's a rugby playing culture even if it's currently at a low ebb and I'd use anything left over to fund a tri-nations series between Wales, France and the best emerging European nation. I'd also employ a specialist agency to get me a sponsor for said tournament for future years.

[HawkMan]

I'd just hand it to Nigel Wood, I know he'd spend it wisely.

[Eddie]

Serbia or Greece for me I think, build on what they already have there, support the open age teams and get kids playing the game. Taking a French Elite 2 or National side into Elite 1 would also be an attractive idea, with an increase in their youth numbers and support for other clubs in that area. 

[Coggo]

Am I allowed to spend it in England on development officers?

Last time I heard, there's one officer for the entire South of England.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

I'd add more bogs to the MKM.

[Eddie]

23 minutes ago, Coggo said:

Am I allowed to spend it in England on development officers?

Last time I heard, there's one officer for the entire South of England.

I did mean spend it in a country other than your own, but yeah why not, in English rugby league terms the south is a different planet. 

[Douglas]

2 hours ago, Eddie said:

If you had £10m to invest in growing rugby league in a particular country, which country would it be and what would you do? 

Northern hemisphere I’d go with Wales because of the close proximity to England geographically and because of the dire state Welsh RU is currently in.

southern hemisphere I’d go with somewhere like the Solomon Islands which is criminally neglected by the NRL/ARL in which £10 million would go a long way and also because RU doesn’t seem to be as entrenched in the country compared to Fiji.

[Damien]

Obviously this would vary depending on the country,  and what the money would get you, but generally I'd look at developing lasting roots by building up a core of clubs. Id look at buying pitches and developing clubhouses at a core of clubs with development officers to build up those clubs.

Edited March 12 by Damien

[sam4731]

USA or Canada. A 30 second advert during the Superbowl costs $10 million. If I've got that money to burn, why not tell 125 million people that there'd be a RL event going on in the country 3 weeks later?

[shrewsbury roughyed]

Give it all to SL clubs with only half share for Bradford, York & Toulouse and buy a big sign saying ‘Bog off everybody else.’ Oh, it’s already been done…?

[Douglas]

15 minutes ago, sam4731 said:

USA or Canada. A 30 second advert during the Superbowl costs $10 million. If I've got that money to burn, why not tell 125 million people that there'd be a RL event going on in the country 3 weeks later?

You’d blow £10 million on a 30 second advert telling yanks who have the attention span of a goldfish there’s a RL event happening 3 weeks later?

sounds like you’ve enrolled in the Nigel woods school of economics 101 course!!

[Eddie]

34 minutes ago, shrewsbury roughyed said:

Give it all to SL clubs with only half share for Bradford, York & Toulouse and buy a big sign saying ‘Bog off everybody else.’ Oh, it’s already been done…?

Bradford got the full share iirc

[HawkMan]

22 minutes ago, Douglas said:

You’d blow £10 million on a 30 second advert telling yanks who have the attention span of a goldfish there’s a RL event happening 3 weeks later?

That's very unfair ......to goldfish.

 

Goldfish are intelligent, social creatures with memories lasting months, not seconds. They possess strong associative learning abilities, allowing them to recognize owners, navigate mazes, and solve puzzles. Studies show they can remember information for up to a year, debunking myths about short-term memory. 

[EggFace]

I would invest in the Netherlands.

[JonM]

Nigeria. Or maybe Ghana. That amount of money goes along way, big population, favourable demographics, plenty of rich people to run professional clubs further down the line, cultural influence across much of Africa.

[EggFace]

And 10 million on my local cause would some local club in the Lake District and make sure grass roots and facilities are sound and have my own micro brewary so I can discount the beer for members and fans and have a coffee company, bakery for pies and pizza and in a perfect world the grass roots game be played in the old autunm, winter/spring time and have a Tag Rugby section October to March and Touch Rugby section April to September with full time gym and buses on for nearset team be it Championship, Super League.

[Sports Prophet]

10 yrs of Sports Prophet as Sharks shorts sponsor accompanied by a Sharks Corporate Suite for the duration of the sponsorship deal.

[sam4731]

2 hours ago, Douglas said:

You’d blow £10 million on a 30 second advert telling yanks who have the attention span of a goldfish there’s a RL event happening 3 weeks later?

sounds like you’ve enrolled in the Nigel woods school of economics 101 course!!

*144

[Celtic Roosters]

2 hours ago, EggFace said:

I would invest in the Netherlands.

You could certainly buy plenty of "Space Cakes" in Amsterdam for that, and then you could sell them over here for a profit and have even more money to throw at RL?

Edited March 12 by Celtic Roosters

[dufftown1]

Spain, plenty of cheap flights, plenty of council owned stadiums, has some rugby knowledge but not a stronghold. 

Plenty of places to get a toe hold outside the biggest cities, close to france. 

[Eddie]

1 hour ago, Celtic Roosters said:

You could certainly buy plenty of "Space Cakes" in Amsterdam for that, and then you could sell them over here for a profit and have even more money to throw at RL?

Or tulip bulbs, it would be like the 1637 all over again. 

Edited March 12 by Eddie