GARY Hetherington expects London Broncos’ new ownership group to be confirmed imminently after several months attempting to secure the Betfred Championship outfit’s long-term future.
The Broncos’ long-time funder David Hughes ended his near three-decade association with the club after putting them up for sale in September last year, with departing Leeds Rhinos chief executive Hetherington and former Australia international forward Matt Adamson leading the search for fresh investment.
Hetherington has even taken an interim stake in the Broncos while bringing together a new group to revitalise the capital club, and those owners are set to be in place before the 70-year-old begins a full-time role with London.
- Gary Hetherington on London Broncos: I don’t have a magic wand
- Gary Hetherington aims for London Broncos’ immediate Super League return
- Subscribe to rugbyleaguehub.com on YouTube
“Pretty soon, actually,” Hetherington told Rugbyleaguehub.com. “This is how I got hooked in right at the outset: Can I help find new owners for London Broncos?
“The more I got talking to people and thought I could add value, the more they said to me ‘What are you doing?’ and the more I found myself saying ‘I’m going to be making a contribution as well’.
“I didn’t imagine the contribution being as big as it is now, but I don’t mind it at all – in fact, I quite welcome it. It’s been an interesting journey over the last six to nine months, and it’s all coming to fruition now.
“We started with a blank piece of paper, which in many ways is a is a good place to start. We’re not taking on board loads of problems which were here before, in many ways it’s a fresh start, so that gives the opportunity to get those people who actually want to be on board, and we want them to be.”
Hetherington was speaking at Wednesday’s event at the Australian High Commission where he laid out his vision for ensuring the Broncos become an established presence in the Betfred Super League after their relegation at the end of last season.
Along with plans to relaunch the club’s academy and confirming AFC Wimbledon’s Cherry Red Records Stadium will remain their home, Hetherington revealed a rebranding is being considered as part of a link-up with sports advisory firm Freshwater Strategy.
The club were originally founded as Fulham in 1980 then became London Crusaders in 1991, followed by switching to the Broncos three years later when Brisbane Broncos took ownership.
That name was dropped in 2006 for Harlequins Rugby League when it joined forces with the Twickenham-based rugby union club of the same name, only for the Broncos to be resurrected in 2012.
However, Hetherington confirmed a new identity is among the ideas being considered.
“That’s one of the things which is being looked into,” Hetherington said. “We’ve got to make changes, and we need a new image and a new profile of the club.
“Of the things that are actually in place, we’ve got a great partnership with all of the games great stakeholders because all of their objectives are very much the same as ours.
“We’ll be supporting them in all rugby league engagements throughout London and the south of England. London Broncos will be committed to all aspects of rugby league in the south and we want to grow it up.
“I think the partnership with Freshwater is a very significant one…and they’ll be instrumental in a lot of what is going on. We want to work behind the scenes, including research into a new name and brand.”
Freshwater’s previous involvement in rugby league saw them deliver the successful applications for both the Brisbane-based Dolphins and Perth Bears to join the NRL, along with helping put together the business plans for both.
Further Australian involvement in London could come in the form of partnerships with an NRL side, something which has been mooted for other clubs should the Australasian competition end up investing in the British game.
“We’ve got an outstanding relationship with many NRL clubs and some of those may have a strategic partnership with the London club,” Hetherington said.
“The NRL are looking to invest in our competition, and there is no bigger and better place to invest than London and the South.
“It’s the biggest part of the country, it’s where the government is, it’s where the major brands are – this is the area we need to campaign to give rugby league the national profile it deserves.”