From elite player wellbeing programmes and brain health research to support for people involved with amateur clubs, the work of Rugby League Cares continues to make a positive impact across rugby league communities.
“WHAT does Rugby League Cares do?”
It’s a question that’s often asked, and the response from those involved in rugby league’s official charity is never short, so far-reaching is the scope of its work.
First and foremost, RL Cares is responsible for the delivery, reporting and measurement of wellbeing provision to the sport’s professional players.
Working alongside member clubs, the charity ensures that the game’s wellbeing programme is seen as gold standard by other sports in the UK and further afield.
RL Cares has delivered the sport’s welfare policy on behalf of the RFL: the strength of this arrangement is the independence of the charity, which is not linked directly to the governing body. This ensures there are no conflicts of interest when working with clubs and players in all wellbeing/welfare situations.
Many people assume, wrongly, that welfare is all about picking up the pieces when a player is involved in a personal crisis. RL Cares is there for players at the difficult moments in their lives but much of the charity’s work involves putting in place a series of measure and programmes designed to help players flourish in all aspects of their lives.
One of the biggest advances in recent years has been a strong focus on education and training: all players are encouraged to take a dual-career approach from as early an age as possible. Players who plan for the next stage of their working lives by gaining academic or vocational qualifications while playing tend to have longer and more settled careers.
As well as awarding grants to players to help offset some of the costs of education and training courses, RL Cares has also engaged with the education sector to create bespoke qualifications for sports professionals.
In 2024, through its partnership with education provider UCEN Manchester, RL Cares strengthened its commitment to continuous professional development, academic minimum standards and future recommendations for sports professionals to achieve a Level 6 Athlete Wellbeing qualification by co-creating a bespoke Level 4 (HND), Level 5 (Foundation Degree), and Level 6 (Undergraduate Degree) Athlete Wellbeing Course.
All modules and course specifications were successfully validated in November by Sheffield Hallam University, with a proposed opening cohort in 2026.
This development positions the charity and UCEN Manchester at the forefront of industry-leading wellbeing qualifications.
The charity also continued to enhance the skills and minimum standards of all clubs in the Betfred Super League and Betfred Championship in the last calendar year. In December, 15 learners completed a Level 3 bespoke Counselling Skills Course, following on from a cohort of 15 learners gaining the same qualification in 2023. This initiative ensured that all clubs meet the required minimum standard qualifications and have the capacity to provide wellbeing support for their teams.
In addition, RL Cares supported Edge Hill University with research on the mental health and wellbeing of Academy-age athletes. Stages 1 and 2 of the research, which included one-on-one interviews with all player welfare managers, were completed in 2024. Clubs provided athletes for Stage 2, where Academy-age players who participated in workshops during Phase 1 were interviewed about their beliefs and opinions regarding current mental health provisions and club education programmes.
Ongoing support has also been provided to the British Army STEPS programme in collaboration with professional club Academies. The content focused on the importance of camaraderie, teamwork and fostering a sense of belonging, alongside numerous opportunities for young athletes to pursue careers in the armed forces while continuing to compete at high levels in their chosen sports after leaving the performance pathway at their clubs.
RL Cares also provides wellbeing support for the England teams: this support is crucial for building relationships with the sport’s key figures – the players – and for offering essential wellbeing support when needed. The charity’s engagement with England teams over the past five years has fostered a strong rapport with staff and players at all levels – men, women and wheelchair – facilitating the integration of positive wellbeing programmes across all Super League clubs.
Providing players with the information they need to make good choices about their lives on and off the pitch is a critical function that has seen RL Cares launch a dedicated online portal filled with unique and curated content.
Before the end of 2025, RL Cares is aiming to improve all aspects of the portal with enhanced usability and the inclusion of current mental health and emergency signposting links.
Whilst RL Cares receives no funding from the RFL to deliver wellbeing programmes to older retired players, the charity has established a Brain Health Fund that is giving players of all ages – and their immediate family members – access to the services of a dedicated Dementia UK Admiral Nurse at monthly brain health clinics.
Nurse provision has been exceptional, significantly impacting those with dementia and their families. Feedback from attendees has been outstanding with moving levels of gratitude expressed by players and their families.
The Brain Health Fund is also helping provide funding and support to a number of groundbreaking scientific research initiatives, including the development of instrumented mouthguards and a new Rugby Kinematics Injury Threshold Study, which aims to define brain strain thresholds that lead to objective evidence of brain injury.
Whilst RFL does provide some funding to meet the cost of the player welfare programme, RL Cares spends an additional £300,000 a year on supporting the wellbeing of players.
This significant investment is met by fundraising events, commercial activity and partnerships with organisations like Movember: in the last few years Movember and RL Cares have invested more than £350,000 in the club foundations at Leeds Rhinos, Hull FC, Sheffield Eagles, Warrington Wolves and Wigan Warriors to enable them to deliver the Ahead of the Game programme within their own communities. More foundations will begin delivering on the programme later in 2025.
In 2024, RL Cares delivered free one-to-one counselling and mental fitness coaching to over 100 community club players who were struggling to access statutory services. Around 15,000 people also took part in free mental health and literacy programmes at community club level.
RL Cares can only do what it does with the support of the wider rugby league family and is encouraging everyone to join the charity as an official member. Membership costs just £20 and comes with a wide range of benefits: for more details visit here.
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 511 (August 2025)