Leeds Rhinos chief executive Gary Hetherington has hailed one of the “most significant days” in rugby league’s history as clubs finally discover how IMG intends to catapult it forward.
The global sports and media company agreed a 12-year strategic partnership with the RFL and Super League in April, tasked with roadmapping a way for the sport to maximise its potential. Since then they have been consulting stakeholders across rugby league, including clubs, players, fans and sponsors, before making their proposals for much-needed change. IMG will present their recommendations to Super League, Championship and League 1 clubs for the first time in Manchester on Wednesday.
After years of the RFL and club bosses often dictating the sport’s path, Hetherington is delighted IMG have taken control. He said: "The game’s changed tact on a number of occasions but we’ve never had this strategic input like we have now. The appointment of IMG as a strategic partner for the next 12 years is very significant.
“The creation of Rugby League Commercial likewise: it's the first time the game’s had its commercial entities managed by experts. It can’t be under-estimated how big those changes already are. And to have a global expert like IMG help plan the sport’s future and whatever changes are required, it’s never been done before.
“We’ve now got other agents who can tell us what they believe needs to change to give the game its opportunity to maximise its potential. That’s the thing which is really different: we're at that point now (on Wednesday) where clubs will be listening to what industry experts are telling us to improve, so it’s not just based on opinions of club representatives like myself which has always been the case previously.”
Rugby league needs IMG to help boost its profile, raise income levels - through broadcast and commercial - and attract more fans. Competition structure, invariably, will have been discussed and season length which players, especially, have said is too long bringing quantity rather than quality. But Hetherington -one of rugby league’s leading administrators over the last 30 years - is confident about what IMG will deliver.
He said: "This is one of the most significant periods in the sport’s entire history. There’s no question. You have to go back to 1995 and the emergence of Sky TV, Rupert Murdoch, switching to summer and the creation of Super League.
"That was a huge change and this is of the same magnitude: it’s where the game is addressing its future in a very, very pragmatic, professional manner. When you look at where the sport was 18 months ago and where it is now, it’s a total coming together of the game which is unique in itself. And this is the next stage.”
