US to launch six-team pro-league in 2016
NEW YORK, Nov 9, (AFP): A professional rugby union league is to be launched in North America for the first time next year, as officials aim to capitalise on the increasing popularity of the sport.
A statement from the Professional Rugby Organization (PRO) said the six-team league would kick off in April 2016 with the blessing of USA Rugby and World Rugby, the sport’s international governing body.
It will be the first time the sport has had a professional league in the region, where rugby is barely noticeable in a sporting landscape dominated by American football, baseball, basketball and ice hockey.
The teams would be based in major metropolitan areas around the northeast United States, the Rocky Mountains and California, a statement said.
Teams from Canada would be added to an expanded competition in 2017. “As the fastest growing team sport in the USA, it is the time to have a sanctioned professional competition,” USA Rugby chairman Bob Latham said.
“We are very happy to partner with PRO Rugby in taking this step to popularize the game, to inspire Americans to fall in love with rugby, and to show the rugby world what American players can do.”
The league’s inaugural season will be bankrolled by Doug Schoninger, a New York businessman with a background in finance who is PRO Rugby’s chief executive.
“At this point the league’s first season is fully funded. It’s all coming from me,” Schoninger told AFP. He declined to give a figure for the total cost of the new venture’s first season.
Schoninger said the six clubs embarking in the new league would be fully owned by PRO Rugby in a single-entity structure.
Each side would have around 2530 players per roster while maintaining a quota of five non-North American players per squad.
“Rugby is a natural fit for our country,” Schoninger said.
“Participation and interest in the sport is at an all-time high and the demand for a professional competition is clear.”