The licensing system failed as it was powerless. The clubs had the say in what happened and voted everything down. The franchise system should have seen every club in SL with a modern facility and a youth system. The sport would have been so much stronger. Instead the likes of Cas, Wakefield and Bradford got away with ignoring all the 'framing the future' requirements and refusing to progress the sport.
The problem is that the same will likely happen now. The tinpot clubs are so numerous that they'll vote against everything, but in general the overall vision appears sound. They're trying to encourage clubs to invest and improve to achieve a category A status. If they can fill the top 12 places in SL with category A sides it closes the drawbridge to automatic promotion and relegation, but if they get to that point it will mean incredible progress from what we have now. It means clubs who achieve category A can focus on the long term and not panicking over short term decisions in order to stay up.
The likes of Warrington will get a category A licence and won't have to worry about relegation. So blooding youngsters during a rebuilding season like you had last year would have been far easier.
We just to see what the categorisation is based on and how enforceable it is. In reality the most likely thing is the clubs voting it down or arguing over it for so long IMG get bored and move on.
The licensing system failed as it was powerless. The clubs had the say in what happened and voted everything down. The franchise system should have seen every club in SL with a modern facility and a youth system. The sport would have been so much stronger. Instead the likes of Cas, Wakefield and Bradford got away with ignoring all the 'framing the future' requirements and refusing to progress the sport.
The problem is that the same will likely happen now. The tinpot clubs are so numerous that they'll vote against everything, but in general the overall vision appears sound. They're trying to encourage clubs to invest and improve to achieve a category A status. If they can fill the top 12 places in SL with category A sides it closes the drawbridge to automatic promotion and relegation, but if they get to that point it will mean incredible progress from what we have now. It means clubs who achieve category A can focus on the long term and not panicking over short term decisions in order to stay up.
The likes of Warrington will get a category A licence and won't have to worry about relegation. So blooding youngsters during a rebuilding season like you had last year would have been far easier.
We just to see what the categorisation is based on and how enforceable it is. In reality the most likely thing is the clubs voting it down or arguing over it for so long IMG get bored and move on.
Also a middle finger to any aspiring French teams by the looks of it
I’m very pro France being involved in the British game, but we’re not a charity. If they want anymore clubs involved, they need to bring a TV deal to the table.
I’m very pro France being involved in the British game, but we’re not a charity. If they want anymore clubs involved, they need to bring a TV deal to the table.
Tbh I don't know the ins and outs of the financial aspect of French teams on Super League. There's a pretty good book on the history of French RL called The Forbidden Game, talks about how it was banned post war France.
Anyway, i digress. I'm not a big French RL fan, i was merely pointing out that there were other themes addressed in the article.
Mentioned in the Sky Sports report (but not in the BBC one): Further to the proposals set out, IMG have also recommended the removal of loop fixtures, including the Magic Weekend, bringing the Challenge Cup final back to May and having increased focus on international breaks.
Mentioned in the Sky Sports report (but not in the BBC one): Further to the proposals set out, IMG have also recommended the removal of loop fixtures, including the Magic Weekend, bringing the Challenge Cup final back to May and having increased focus on international breaks.
I spotted this too. IMG would be mad to remove Magic Weekend. It's one of the best thing that UK Rugby League has...not often you see the NRL copy something from Super League.