Rugby League World Cup chief want ‘binding agreements’ for new 2022 dates
Jon Dutton, the chief executive of the Rugby League World Cup, has demanded Australia and New Zealand sign binding agreements to commit them to taking part in the tournament next year and avoid a repeat of the event’s postponement until 2022, which was confirmed on Thursday morning.
After the Australian Rugby League Commission and New Zealand Rugby League decided last month they would not be sending teams to compete in the event in the United Kingdom, that was scheduled to start on 23 October, due to concerns around player safety and Covid-19, World Cup organisers finally conceded defeat at a board meeting on Wednesday. They have confirmed they had been left with no option but to push the event back 12 months.
The chair of the International Rugby League, Troy Grant, said there were a range of sanctions available if a decision was made to punish the Kangaroos and Kiwis for effectively boycotting the event this year. But Dutton said he simply wanted guarantees they would take part no matter what the public health situation in 2022.
“We’d like agreements to be absolutely binding with signed participation agreements and we’ve already started work on that,” he said. “We’ve worked hard for six years to get the tournament into a great position.
“Into the weekend, it became apparent we couldn’t continue and that it wouldn’t have been the world-class event we’d hoped. The work now is about ensuring we have everything in place, such as the guarantees and conditions and we’re confident we’ll be able to do that. It’s beyond disappointing we can’t stage it this year.”
A survey by Australia’s Rugby League Players Association found 85% of players indicated they would still be willing to play this year, but after Australia and New Zealand withdrew, Dutton conceded he feared a knockon effect from neighbouring nations who would fill their squads with players from the NRL.
“The least-worst option was to postpone it, but being a leader is about making brave decisions and being responsible,” he said. “Postponement was never an easy option and I don’t think carrying on without Australia and New Zealand would have been credible, and there could well have been a domino effect from other nations.”
Dutton and his team will now work out with Super League and the Rugby Football League when to hold the tournament and is hopeful tickets can be put back on sale before Christmas. He said it is almost certain there will be no clash with the football World Cup in Qatar, which is due to start on 21 November 2022. That could mean yet another congested domestic season for clubs next year.
“We have some draft dates but we
want to do some consultation in the right way,” he said. “We’re conscious of the Fifa World Cup and we wouldn’t expect to go against that for understandable reasons. We hope to confirm those dates very shortly, we just want to speak to Super League and the RFL about their season.”
The tournament’s broadcast deal with the BBC will remain in place and after receiving considerable Government support, to the tune of £25m to host the World Cup, Dutton said discussions will take place about further funding .
“We’ve got some conversations to have with Government but we believe we’ll be able to stand on our own two feet through our own strong commercial performance,” he said. “That will ensure we don’t provide any great demand on the public purse.”