FORMER Newcastle Thunder executive director Mick Hogan admits he is deeply disappointed but not surprised by the decision of the club’s current directors to withdraw from League One next season following relegation from the Championship.
Thunder, owned by local businessman Semore Kurdi, who also owns rugby union club Newcastle Falcons, confirmed all remaining player and staff contracts will be fulfilled before the club officially closes down.
Hogan, now managing director of his sports consultancy business MMG Sports Ltd, was chairman as well as a director of Thunder from July 2016 to January 2022 before leaving to take up a leading role in organising last year’s RL World Cup.
He says the club and its owner have been hit by a number of developments which placed both parties under considerable financial pressure.
“It was really sad news from Newcastle Thunder and my immediate thoughts are with the staff and players who need to secure their futures,” said Hogan. “These are worrying times for all those closely affected.
“I’m gutted too for the fans, volunteers, community players and partners who won’t have a team to support.
“While I’ve not been involved with the club for a couple of seasons, it’s a place close to my heart, ever since the first season back in 1999, when it all started.
“Without Semore there would have been no Thunder since 2015. He has invested millions of pounds over the years into the two rugby clubs, but his businesses are based on two sectors of the economy – property and hospitality – that were both devastated by Covid and haven’t fully recovered.
“He was very ambitious and had made a statement in 2019 that the club would win the Super League title by 2030 at the latest. He was perfectly serious about that, but then Covid intervened.
“People may question the transition to full-time (planned in 2019, implemented in late 2021, before a reversion to part-time ahead of this season).
“But the fact is that was Semore’s decision, he wanted to be in Super League and had no desire to stay in League One or the Championship. Had we not started that journey then he would have walked away four years ago.
“If you add the decline in the distribution of income from the RFL and the withdrawal of funding that previously supported the Academy and community development in the North-East, then you can see how the financial pressure was mounting, so I’m not surprised that he has had to take drastic action.”
Hogan, however, hopes that a club can be revived in the North-East, adding: “Hopefully it’s not the end of the club, just a slight pause while it can regroup and go again.
“Surely there has been too much effort invested by lots of people to say it’s over.
“If there is anything I can do to help those who want to see the club continue, then I would happily do so, although I think that would mean returning in 2025, rather than next year.”
Newcastle’s withdrawal from League One follows that of London Skolars and leaves just eight clubs in next year’s third tier.
The RFL have arranged a meeting for them this week to consider the best way forward.
