BY JOHN DAVIDSON
Exclusive: Sport England is waiting for the RFL to create a governance action plan, with future funding contingent on those steps, after holding a meeting with the RFL.
Officials from Sport England met with RFL chief executive Tony Sutton and senior executive director Nigel Wood yesterday.
It is believed Sport England, which provides £16 million in government funding to rugby league, is concerned that the return of Wood to the top of the RFL in March may have breached the Code for Sports Governance, with the RFL’s funding under threat.
Wood was brought back after a coup engineered by Leigh, Leeds and St Helens.
“Sport England hosted a constructive meeting with the RFL yesterday, at which the organisation’s leadership confirmed its commitment to good governance and compliance with the Code for Sports Governance,” a Sport England spokesperson told rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads this afternoon.
“As required by Sport England, the RFL are currently producing a Governance Action Plan which sets out steps the organisation will take to become compliant with the Code, including a timeline for appointments to replace the interim Board.
“The RFL understands the importance of adhering to the Code in exchange for public funding, and we look forward to reviewing their Action Plan in due course.”
rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads understands it remains possible that Sport England will not release its next payment to the RFL – due in September – should it deem the RFL’s actions to be non-satisfactory.
The RFL appointed a new interim board in March, after a wave of resignations from its chairman Simon Johnson and its directors.
But that board was then jettisoned and reshaped in June, with James Child and Ian Roberts ditched. Child has claimed that he was asked to stand down so that the board “didn’t go under”.
In June Martin Coyd joined the executive members Sutton, Wood and Rob Graham on the board, with Lord Jonathan Caine, Abi Ekoku and Dermot Power appointed as non-excutive members.
Caine, Ekoku and Power are also members of Wood’s strategic review committee, as is Coyd. Jo Drapier, the Head of Partner Relationships at Sport England, is an observer of the RFL board.
The RFL has been approached for comment.
Yesterday, Bradford Bulls announced that Wood had sold his remaining shareholding in the club.