BY JOHN DAVIDSON
Former RFL operations director Jason Harborow has been confirmed as a key part of Nigel Wood’s group reviewing UK rugby league.
Harborow, who is also currently a board member of Swinton Lions and chairman of the club’s foundation, presented Wood’s findings to the Rugby League Council at the meeting in Wakefield last week.
Harborow has close ties to Wood, after working for the RFL from 1998 to 2000, and to former RFL chief executive Ralph Rimmer. In October 2023 he appointed Rimmer as associate director of sports strategy and consultancy company Global-13, the company he set up in 2016.
According to an RFL statement sent to rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads: “Jason Harborow has been supporting the Strategic Review Committee since March, focusing on strategic development, analytics, and modelling. Through his advisory firm, Global-13, he has been working closely with Nigel Wood and the group.
“Over the past 15 years, Jason has led some of the Middle East’s largest sports, entertainment, and cultural projects. He continues to advise major sports organisations, Governments and international consultancy firms, with recent experience in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. He also has extensive experience in the US and Far East.
“Currently serving as Chairman of the Steering Board for the 2025 World Boxing Championships, Jason also leads Global-13, which is accredited by UK Sport to advise on major international events. A lifelong Rugby League fan, he brings significant expertise in sport, entertainment and growth to this important work.”
Harborow is a former director of the English Touch Association Limited, and of the now dissolved sports broadcasting company NovoSports, and has worked in the past for TalkSport and BBC Radio as a broadcaster.
He was the operations director for the 2000 Rugby League World Cup, which faced some criticism for poor marketing and ticket sales, according to the BBC.
He also previously served as stadium director of the JJB Sports Stadium in Wigan and as general manager of the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games.
Harborow spent nearly five years as CEO of the Liverpool Culture Company, but faced heavy criticism from The Liverpool Echo and other publications during his role there. He controversially departed from his position in Liverpool in 2013 with a reported £230,000 payoff.