Last week, the vast majority of clubs from the Rugby Football League in England voted in favour of admitting two new North American clubs to the RFL next year.
Those two clubs will be from New York City and Ottawa.
Ottawa are a relocation of RFL member club Hemel Stags, so they are considered an RFL member club.
Further due diligence is currently being done by the RFL to make sure both the clubs are ready to go for next season. A 2021 start has also been floated should all boxes not be ticked.
The next question is where should the RFL expand next, and where their priorities should lie.
The RFL have had bid approaches from Blackpool, Belgrade, Dublin, Liverpool and other North American cities like Boston, Montreal, Philadelphia and Jacksonville.
If I was at the RFL, I would be looking next at expansion teams within the British Isles – specifically Ireland and Scotland, as rugby league there is very small.
Scotland competed at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. (NRLPhotos/Scott Davis)
Most NRL fans know Irishman Brian Carney, who played on the wing for Newcastle in 2006 as well as Wigan and Great Britain. Carney now does commentary for Sky Sports.
Having teams in Ireland and Scotland would mean that the RFL has professional teams covering the whole of the British Isles. This makes sense commercially, and could help the code gain national coverage in the UK.
The other promising bid is from Serbian club Red Star Belgrade, but the RFL have stated that it may be best for them to continue developing the Balkan Super League to a professional level.
The Balkan comp involves 14 amateur clubs across eight nations. This makes sense – the RFL can only handle so many overseas clubs.
Other options for future European bids would be to join the French Elite One Championship, which is made up of places like Avignon, Carcassonne and Lezignan in the south of France.
There are clubs in the second-division Elite Two from cities like Lyon and Toulon, and lower-level amateur rugby league has a small presence in places like Paris and Montpellier, which are both aiming for inclusion in the Elite One competition next year.
Joining those competitions will help rugby league commercially, make the sport more appealing across Europe and open up new TV deals and markets.
Rugby league fans should not close the door on expansion and open their eyes to the bigger picture and support rugby league around the globe.
There is not much to lose except for a lost opportunity.
In the past, we have seen failed RFL expansion clubs like the Celtic Crusaders and Paris St Germain, but that should remain a lesson and a reminder to make sure clubs are well managed.
Whatever the case, let’s hope the RFL get these two new clubs going before receiving future bids from unique places around the globe that will help the sport grow and bring it to the masses.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Nothing wrong with competition, fans can draw comparisons.Starting a new sport in any country particularly in the USA and Canada ,you are faced with massive competition from huge well entrenched sports. I'm sure the Wolfpack owners would be cognisant off that fact ,before they ventured into their enterprise.
Pete
Guest
They will have a lot of competition from Rugby with the Toronto Arrows added to Major league Rugby comp in the US the first professional comp up and running this year already their first home games were sold out admittedly they have a small stadium but they are looking to increase the size next year.
Paul
Roar Guru
I often get the impression that Greenburg thinks only his or an existing NRL executive member can come up with sound ideas, Peter. It's a real pity because the other impression I get is he the rest of his crew seem devoid of ideas.... well, good ones anyway.
Peter Piper
Guest
In the lower divisions, the costs will be very low with many of the existing clubs made up of part timers. They often play on pitches that are closer to the school playing field than what we regard as a stadium and with attendances often less than 2000. But they do have a pathway as Toronto has shown. They entered at the third tier and last year were 80 minutes away from playing Superleague this season. I think that Greenberg could learn a lot from this structure.
Fred
Guest
Yes think it meant to say Northern Hemisphere, not North America. Though the additions of New York and Ottawa to Toronto are great news.
Paul
Roar Guru
I'm wondering what sort of revenue it would take to set up and maintain a team in the RFL? If it's not huge, wouldn't it make sense to get as many teams into the comp quickly, give them time to establish, etc, before costs go up, to the point where start up costs are too high?
Mark
Guest
Interesting article, if a little optimistic. But the article’s heading doesn’t reflect the substance of the article. The writer focuses on expansion in the UK and Europe, and nowhere does he say that North America is the future of league.
max power
Guest
the belief is strong in this one