By JOHN DAVIDSON
Breaking: A passionate appeal has been made to Lisa Nandy MP, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, to investigate and independently review the RFL and the governance of rugby league.
An anonymous letter emailed to Nandy and to members of the media this afternoon, purporting to come from ‘The real community of rugby league’, calls for government action following the dramatic coup that has taken place at the RFL, first reported by The i-Paper in February.
The 10-page letter asks for a review into the recent overthrow of the RFL board, the installation of Nigel Wood as interim chairman, the current governance of the sport in the UK and an investigation into allegations of misogyny at the governing body.
The letter reads in full:
Lisa Nandy MP
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
By email
18th March 2025
Dear Secretary of State,
Recent weeks have witnessed considerable turbulence within the Governance of rugby league. A number of professional club owners have forced the resignations of the independent RFL Chairperson, the Senior Independent Director, and a number of other Non-Executive Directors from the RFL Board.
They have then installed Nigel Wood as an interim Chairman and appointed him to undertake a ‘club-led’ review of the game. Mr. Wood has inherent conflicts of interest (he is a club owner himself) and is a highly controversial figure within the sport stemming from his previous role as RFL Chief Executive.
The result is that there has effectively been a coup by a number of professional club owners. Independent Board Members (almost all women) have been forced out by (all male) club owners and Mr. Wood inserted to a position of control.
This has been achieved by using the mechanism of the RFL Council (the membership body for professional clubs) to usurp the role of the RFL Board and its remit over the broader interests in the game.
The consequence is that the sport of Rugby League appears to not be compliant with the Code of Sports Governance expected of such a significant body. It is also questionable as to whether a body that is explicitly putting the interests of club owners first above the interests of wider stakeholders can operate a NGB for the whole sport. It has also shown the continuation of a ‘jobs for the boys’ (and they are all male) attitude to taking the game of rugby league forward as well as an unhealthy power being vested within what are a relatively small number of club owners. The interests of fans, community participants, professional players, the women’s game, and all other stakeholders have been overlooked. Concerns with culture and specifically misogyny have been ignored but can be barely hidden given the resignations of female RFL Directors to be replaced by the controlling influence of the exclusively men.
Given the disturbing nature of what has occurred and the potential ramifications of a ‘club-led’ review for the wider game- for fans, community participants, professional players, and the women’s game – it would seem appropriate for you to take some urgent action as the Secretary of State responsible for sport, as a female leader in sport, and as an MP for a traditional rugby league community. It is necessary to protect the long-term interests of the game of rugby league for all stakeholders not just a few.
To protect those wider interests it is necessary for:
1. An investigation into the circumstances of recent weeks to understand what has occurred and whether the action of the RFL Council ‘over-rode’ the ultimate decision-making power of the RFL Board (in breach of the Code of Sports Governance); Sport England should make clear a position on whether the RFL Board (and not the RFL Council) is the body acting as the NGB for rugby league
2. Intervention to prevent further damage by insisting that the RFL be Chaired by an appropriately independent and appropriately appointed person (as per the Code)
3. For you as SoS to facilitate a truly independent Review into the state of rugby league with a Terms of Reference allowing it to make recommendations in the long-term interest of the sport as a whole; that Terms of Reference should specifically:
o Consider fans and participants (including professional players as well as community players) as primary stakeholders of the sport as opposed to all other stakeholders being secondary to a small group of male club owners
o Consider whether the current Governance structures of the RFL Council arrangement, RFL Board, SuperLeague, and sub-structures, are fit for purpose and the extent to which these have created the problems faced
o Make recommendations about the appropriate Governance structure for the sport moving forward
o Consider the long-term financial and commercial options available to the sport as a whole recognising the shifting media and sponsorship market
o To establish what steps can be taken to deepen and broaden interest in the game and in particular, what is necessary to increase community level participation and growth in the female game
4. Separately, and in the public interest, commission an investigation to consider the  culture of the sport at the ‘top-table’ level – both within the RFL as an organisation but across the top-tables of the game as a whole – and what steps may need to be taken to increase diversity and move the sport away from a ‘jobs for the boys’ mentality to the detriment of female involvement
Although it would ordinarily be exceptional for Government to intervene in the activities of a sport these are exceptional circumstances and there are precedents such as the concern with football Governance and intervention in British Gymnastics in response to accusations of abuse.
There is also a mandate to intervene given clear breaches of, and now a non-conformity with, the Code of Sports Governance. Sport England has the right to step-in in these very circumstances and to insist on the independence of any Chair. In addition to circumstances of non-compliance with the Code, Government also has the right to undertake a designation review into whether a body is still performing the function of a National Governing Body. In the case of RFL, if the RFL Council is seen as the ultimate decision maker then clearly the body is not established in the interest of the whole sport and hence, any Governance review into rugby league will need to determine a compliant NGB body for the future. The role of the  RFL Council will need to end.
The sport of rugby league has a particular history. It was born from a rebellion of club owners in the North who wanted to pay their working-class players. It very quickly grew however to be a game played in communities and did not remain the play-piece of just the few who owned an interest in the clubs themselves. After 130 years it is about time the game moved on from the ‘jobs for the boys’ mentality and Governance behavior of club owners – we, the fans, urgently need that change. We need a vision – we will not get that from what is currently proposed.
Yours faithfully,
The real community of rugby league
cc. CX and Chair of Sports England
The RFL has been approached for comment this afternoon.
Nandy is the MP for Wigan.
