BY JOHN DAVIDSON
Exclusive: Rugby Football League (RFL) board member Abi Ekoku has been appointed as interim CEO of the governing body.
Ekoku joined the board earlier this year and is also a member of Nigel Wood’s strategic review committee.
According to several sources, he has become Tony Sutton’s successor at the RFL.
rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads understands RFL staff were told of the appointment today.
Ekoku is a close confidant of Wood and played as an outside back for London, Halifax and Bradford in the 1990s. Before that, he was the UK discus champion in athletics and competed in the Commonwealth Games.
After retiring in 1998 he became chairman of the Rugby League Players’ Association and served as the CEO of both Keighley and Bradford. He also had a spell as team manager for Great Britain in 2006.
According to the RFL website: “Abi Ekoku is a Business Development & Strategy Consultant with significant experience in leading professional service teams and managing multi stakeholder groups - from Design & Planning, through Construction and across Marketing, Sales and Client Relations – primarily in property development and leisure investment environments.Â
“Abi brings a wealth of sports specific and wider cultural sector industry advisory experience; with engagements ranging from Race Equality, Safeguarding and Anti-Doping; to Major Event Management, Digital Strategy and Facility Development.”
Sutton’s departure from the RFL was announced in September. It is understood he will be on gardening leave until March.
It is unclear if there was any external recruitment process conducted for the role of CEO.
An RFL spokesperson declined to comment when approached by rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads.
