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Earlier in the year probably one of the most bizarre expansion plans ever announced in the world of rugby league occurred in Toronto Canada.
Flanked by local and international (rugby league variety) glitterati and impressive Canadian TV, radio and press coverage, the Mayor of Toronto, John Tory, announced that a team from Canada – specifically Toronto – was entering the UK rugby league’s League One competition in 2017.
They would join teams from England, Wales and France.
“Sports fans have long waited for a transatlantic major league team and we’re proud to be the first with the launch of our club, the Toronto Wolfpack” stated Eric Perez, founder and CEO in a recent interview.
Whether this is true or not, 2017 will be an interesting experiment for rugby league. How did this come about one may ask? Perez first came across the existence of rugby league during his travels to the UK and was instantly taken with this version of ‘rugby’ he never knew existed.
It took several years later to give up his job in advertising and set about creating a rugby league presence in Canada centred mainly around Toronto.
Perez first wanted to set up rugby league as an ‘event’ destination for local sports fans. Hiring a field his first venture of gathering Canadian rugby union players and other athletes to form a ‘national’ side called The Wolverines.
In the ensuing years this team would play the likes of Lebanon, Jamaica, USA and even the British Armed Services. Crowds went from around 1500 to over 7,000 when they moved to a trendy part of downtown Toronto, Liberty Village at Lamport Stadium. The arena had an artificial pitch and a capacity of 10,000.
During this period domestic competitions were set up both in Ontario and British Colombia.
Who is backing this venture and how will it work? According to Perez there are up to ten investors – both Canadian and foreign – whom mostly want to remain anonymous.
One name that has come forward is Australian mining magnate David Argyle. In a recent BBC interview, Perez stated the investors are not looking for an immediate return on their financial backing as it’s not a crucial concern.
Most of the costs will be covered by TV rights and sponsorship, he added.
The Wolfpack’s regular season will have 11 home matches and 11 away matches to be played in England, Wales and France before the playoffs and the Challenge Cup. These matches will be played in blocks of four at home then away to lessen financial costs.
The Wolfpack will cover all expenses of other visiting teams including airfares.
To lead the anticipated on-field performance, the Toronto Wolfpack named Paul Rowley, veteran rugby league coach and former England international player, as coach. Former Great Britain coach and three-time Super League Champion Brian Noble has been named as director of rugby league.
“Approximately half of the team will comprise experienced RFL players to provide the on-field leadership and code skills with the balance of the squad to be drawn from a very large pool of talented and athletic North American rugby players, collegiate Canadian and American football players as well as former CFL and NFL players”, Rowley stated.
Added, the RFL has just announced a change in salary cap limits which will allow clubs like The Wolfpack to compete and challenge for a spot in the Super League.
The Canadians are also close to finalising a major Canadian TV deal that will cover all their games plus a reality TV show following the club’s search for new talent in Vancouver, Montreal, Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Boston and Philadelphia. The show will be broadcast throughout Canada and sold to over 100 countries, Perez claimed.
According to Perez they also have over 4,000 home season ticket reservations from Toronto’s sports-hungry fans.
The announcement of The Wolfpack may be the biggest thing to happen to the English rugby league’s structure in the modern era. It certainly is one of those ‘rub your eye is this really happening moments’ that is certain to attract an immense amount of skepticism inside andamp; out of the rugby league world.
Perez in his BBC radio interview recently said rugby league people have forgotten to dream, taken for granted a sport he discovered by accident and thinks is the greatest game he has ever come across.
Whether the Wolfpack succeed or fail, people who stumble across rugby league like Eric Perez certainly fall in love hard with the sport, sometimes to their detriment.
It’s also a great vindication for our fans and the game who have their fair share of detractors out there.
Here is a person willing to give up everything for a rugby league dream and he’s not even from the North of England, East Coast of Australia or South Auckland.
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