COVID CRISIS POINT
KR AND FC OWNERS WARN OF PERILOUS RL FUTURE
Rugby League in this country will not be able to survive in its current guise unless a way of getting fans back into stadiums is found before next season.
That’s the message coming from two of the competition’s prominent owners, with Hull KR chairman Neil Hudgell and his Hull FC counterpart Adam Pearson both warning of the dangers ahead for the sport.
There are fears supporters will not be able to return to watch live sport in England until the end of March at the very earliest, with that date even possibly nudging further into spring 2021.
Tuesday’s government announcement was a hammer blow for Super League, who had made plans to welcome a limited number of supporters back into grounds next week as part of pilot test events at four matches.
Officials from the Department for Culture, Media and
Sport told leading figures from a wide variety of sports, including rugby league, that the ban on supporters would be kept under review but sports should brace themselves for no spectators inside grounds or arenas until winter has passed.
Sport in England below the riches of top level football is now approaching something of a crisis point, none more so than rugby league, a sport propped up by in essence club benefactors and a television deal.
The latter is still to be signed off beyond next season in one of the key deals of the sport’s recent history.
But while the former remain committed to the cause, Super League cannot rely further on a small group of club owners who have taken a sizeable financial hit personally to keep the clubs in business.
“We are in a privileged position at our club in that we seem to be able to weather the storm this year thanks primarily to the support of our fans”, Rovers chairman Hudgell told the Mail.
“Beyond this season though there’s a limit to what we can expect from people, even assuming their own personal circumstances allow them to continue that support.
“More than anything at the moment all the uncertainties prevailing make the situation a very concerning one. The one certainty in it all is that the longer this goes on, the more at risk our clubs become.”
Rovers are a club up for sale, with Hudgell due to step away in December, but the Robins remain financially viable thanks to season passes bought by fans for a campaign which they, in the most part, have not been able to watch live.
That is the fear for next season. The 2021 Super League season is due to start in late
February, beginning three weeks later than initially planned to allow players sufficient time to recover from a delayed 2020 campaign.
If spectators are allowed back into stadiums by late March Super League would only lose three or four rounds behind closed doors and there remains the possibility of delaying the start to the season further. However, the uncertainty of when government will allow sports to open their doors again will no doubt stop many in the meantime from buying season memberships, the lifeblood for clubs to stay afloat.
Uncertainty is once again the sport’s biggest enemy with clarity needed to accompany a structured approach for getting fans back into grounds.
“We can get fans back inside stadiums this year in a limited capacity, it’s achievable and I still hope it will happen,” added FC owner Pearson.
“You can sit in pubs and restaurants safely enough, so why not 1,000 fans in an open stadium?
“It is worrying times for all of us, not just rugby league but all sports if we don’t find a way to make it happen and get supporters back in.
“I think we’re reaching crisis point here and if we don’t find a way of getting fans back in you’ll see clubs go. Super League clubs, Championship, League One, clubs will fold because barring only a couple of clubs, we can’t survive without fans.
“Football is in danger too, as are many sports.
“We need to find a way to get fans back in, because I fear for the future of our sport if we don’t.”