Rugby league told £16m government funding will be stopped unless questions answered

The Guardian

7 hours ago

The Rugby Football League has been told it will not receive the next instalment of government funding due next month unless it addresses concerns in Westminster about the sport's governance.
Officials from Sport England are due to meet the RFL leadership team of the interim chair, Nigel Wood, and chief executive, Tony Sutton, this week to address the issue, with the next payment of a £16m government funding package at risk.
The Guardian has learned that during preliminary discussions to arrange the meeting, the RFL was informed it will not receive next month's payment without providing satisfactory answers regarding recent changes to its board to Sport England, which will be represented by its chair, Chris Boardman, and interim chief executive, Phil Smith.
Sport England is understood to believe that the RFL's decision to install Wood as interim chair may have breached the Code for Sports Governance, as it does not appear to have followed an 'open and transparent' recruitment process.
Complying with the code, which sets out minimum standards regarding transparency, diversity and inclusion, accountability and integrity, is a prerequisite for governing bodies seeking government and National Lottery funding.
An RFL spokesperson told the Guardian: 'The RFL is working with Sport England on a Governance Action Plan, following resignations from the Board earlier in 2025, which required transitional arrangements.
'We appreciate the need for Sport England to reassure themselves that our response will remain fully compliant with the Code for Sports Governance – the new RFL Board are totally committed to this.
'The outstanding work that is delivered by the sport in hard-to-reach communities, made possible partly by Sport England funding, continues unaffected.'
Government money is critical to rugby league, the finances of which have been stretched in recent years by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the collapse in the value of its main broadcast deal with Sky Sports, which is paying the Super League clubs around half what it was five years ago to televise their matches.
Without Sport England funding many other clubs would find themselves in a similar position to Salford Red Devils, who are fighting for their future after a disastrous takeover that has left them with only two senior players due to the repeated late payment of wages and several Super League fixtures being cancelled.
The RFL receives £16m over five years from government in a deal managed by Sport England, with the money used to fund the elite end of the sport as represented by England's international teams and the development of the grassroots and recreational game.
Sport England's concerns revolve around the processes involved in the return of Wood following the resignation of the former RFL chair Simon Johnson and three other directors this year. Wood was previously chief executive of the RFL for 11 years and received a £300,000 severance package following his departure in 2018, which accounted for almost one-sixth of the governing body's losses at the time.
The Code for Sports Governance states the chairs of governing bodies must be independent, but Wood was chair of the Championship club Bradford Bulls before being appointed. While he has relinquished that role at Bradford he remains on the club's board.
Wood initially returned to the RFL in March as senior independent director before taking the title of interim chair, which was made permanent last month. He has also been appointed chair of Rugby League Commercial, the body that manages the sport's broadcasting and sponsorship sales.
In addition to Wood's links to Bradford, Sport England is expected to ask questions about the processes involved in his appointment, and whether any other potential candidates were interviewed. In March RFL sources insisted it would not be a long-term arrangement.
Since returning to the RFL Wood has been instrumental in driving through an expansion of Super League from 12 to 14 clubs for next season, although Hull FC, Hull KR and Wigan Warriors failed to endorse the plan when it was voted through by the other nine clubs last month. In another twist Bradford are one of the clubs pushing to be promoted from the Championship to the expanded Super League, which has raised eyebrows given Wood's previous role.
As the Guardian revealed last month, Sky Sports has also yet to endorse the expansion and has made it clear it will not provide additional funding for the extra clubs to cover the final season of its three-year TV deal, which expires at the end of next season. In addition, it is unclear who will cover the approximate £500,000 cost of televising an extra game across 27 rounds next season.
Some Championship clubs vying for promotion as part of expansion plans have indicated they are willing to enter Super League without central funding next season, which has raised further concerns about its competitiveness in the light of the Salford debacle.
Salford were thrashed 80-6 by Hull FC last week before Sunday's fixture against Wakefield was cancelled due to concerns over the safety of the younger players and triallists they were planning to field.
Salford's owner, Dario Berta, has said the club will not go bust. They are due in court next month over an unpaid tax bill of almost £700,000.