Government funding increased from £4.4 million to £7.5 million in 2010, but Sport England confirmed last month that it would reduce its funding commitment by nearly £1 million after a survey indicated that regular participation in the sport had fallen by almost half. However, the RFL, which revealed earlier this week that it had generated record 2010 turnover of £22.8 million and reinvested pre-tax profits of £8.7 million into its member clubs and organisations, is well placed to surpass its 2010 figures, according to Wood.
“Achieving a stable financial environment has been priority for the board for the last 10 years,” Wood told SportBusiness.com. “We are confident of perhaps outperforming (the 2010 figures) next year, but it obviously depends on how successful events like the Four Nations prove to be.” The RFL’s record figures were achieved despite the lack of a home international series in 2010, but the 2011 Four Nations is likely to boost the RFL’s coffers, with England competing alongside Australia, New Zealand and Wales.
The tournament will see England play at Wembley for the first time since the 1995 Rugby League World Cup final as part of a double-header on November 5. “Rugby league had a long association with the old Wembley which was disturbed when it was torn down, but holding games at the new Wembley Stadium is a good way of re-establishing the sport on the international stage,” Wood said. “It is also part of our build-up to the Rugby League World Cup (in England in 2013) as the tournament will be the first cab off the rank after the 2012 Olympics.”
A new £90 million domestic broadcast contract with Sky Sports is set to be unveiled in the coming weeks and talks are also ongoing with “three or four” brands interested in replacing Engage as the title sponsor of the Super League from the end of the current campaign, which will conclude in October. “We’re optimistic and passionate that Super League is one of the flagship properties of British sport,” Wood said. “Elite level rugby league reaches 20 million viewers every year as well as more than two million attendees.”
“We’ve had a lot of interest in the title sponsorship rights,” Wood added. “We have a long and mutually beneficial relationship with Engage and it is appropriate to deliver the sponsorship element as effectively as possible for the remainder of this season, so the logical time to announce the new deal would be after the end of the season.”
