THE interim chief executive of the RFL, Abi Ekoku, has assured that the governing body’s breach of Sport England’s codes will not threaten rugby league’s funding.
Sport England provide seven-figure sums of public money each year to the sport.
But the RFL was asked to put together an action plan in August over fears recent governance changes made them non-compliant with the public body’s codes.
It coincided with the appointment as Rugby League Commercial interim chair of Nigel Wood, who has since taken the same position within the RFL.
Sport England asked the RFL to set out the timeline for a transparent process to replace the interim board, following the resignations of previous RFL chairman Simon Johnson and several other directors.
Ekoku said of Sport England’s intervention: “The process was because there was a vacuum left by the departure of the last board.
“When Nigel was asked to chair the board, because of his ownership of Bradford at the time – which he stepped back from – and because he hadn’t disposed of the shares at that time it meant we were in breach of the sports code of governance.
“That breach was just a technical issue, it wasn’t anything operational. It wasn’t to do with independence.
“It’s not a big deal. We’ll go through a governance action plan, which will be complete by the end of March.
“There is a clear code of governance for every sport that receives an amount of public money.
“The money rugby league receives is some of the best value money the government spends, because of the reach we have and the communities we target. We’re valued highly by them.”
