"I have no issue with the likes of Toronto. But the long term plan has to be for them to be participating in a strong Canadian league. The same goes for the French teams."

So what you're saying is that you have no problem with Toronto or French teams as long as they're not playing in the English leagues ?
That's pretty non-expansionist to me !

Why is that then?

Toronto playing in SL would be a good thing short term to raise the profile of the game over there. But eventually you need to build on that by developing a strong domestic scene. Having a couple of Canadian teams full of English and Aus players based thousands of miles away will do nothing for Canadian RL.

A "World League" is a little hyperbolic. It's only the UK, France & Canada.

Random teams aren't being parachuted in either. Parachuted would imply they're being dropped in at the top (SL), but they're actually being pushed in at the bottom (League 1). They also haven't been randomly selected by the RFL or anything like that, this is an extremely serious proposal from Toronto, that we'd be fools to turn down.

How long is 'long-term'? Is a fully fledged French of Canadian SL feasible even in the next 30 years? It's an ideal scenario I agree, but it's just not realistic. After 120years of professional RL in England, we still only have 7/8 strong clubs.

How many countries play in the World baseball comp?

Rugby union has Australian, New Zealand, Japanese, South African and an Argentinian team all playing each other, albeit in different divisions. That seems to work for them, so I'm willing to give the Canadians teams a go. After a few years, who's to say that someone won't invest in a full time Canadian league.

The world is getting smaller and smaller and trans-national competitions are are becoming more and more the norm. MLS, MLB, NHL, NBA all have Canadian and US sides, the NFL used to play games in Canada, now does so in london, and is looking to expand to london.

The NRL has NZ and Australian sides, the queensland cup has the PNG hunters and hopefully soon a fijian side.

Super Rugby has teams from NZ, Aus, SA, Argentina and Japan,

The pro12 has teams from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy,

The KHL has teams from Croatia, CHina, Belarus, FInland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Russia, Slovakia,

The world is moving away from domestic competitions, to wider multi-national competitions because the advantages of doing so are obvious. £££££

We for some reason not only pull away from that (we have people arguing the NRL are too good so we should give up on the WCC rather than expand it) but that where we do indulge it, we should only do so with an eye to moving back from it.

A 'world league', far from being hyperbolic or unworkable is possibly the only thing that can save our game.

Let me stop you right there...

The point about Toronto is that if it succeeds not only on the playing field, but in attracting 7-10,000 regular fans to games in Toronto itself, then it is going to open up the whole north American market to rugby league. Eric Perez, the man behind Toronto, is already talking about Montreal to follow in Toronto's footsteps. If that happens I can see some people putting money into some US teams (Boston? New York? Philadelphia? Atlanta? Jacksonville?) to join their Canadian cousins in creating a professional club to join the English competition. If Perez really can get serious TV coverage in Canada, as he claims, then so can the USA backers, and then the sky is the limit in north America. A truly transatlantic competition will boost the prestige of the game in England as well.

You can see from the poll that there are a considerable number of people on this forum who don't want this to happen, so they can keep the northern hemisphere game in poverty and isolation, with England and France perennial losers, while the NRL thrives and the Aussies and Kiwis remain dominant, and the World Cup is a joke. I just don't get this small minded attitude.

A new level of buffoonery even for you.

This is all about the RFL and their plan for the game. Over the last 10 years I haven't thought there was one & they've just been making it up as they go along, buffeted by circumstance.

I'm beginning to think they are (although they're never going to admit it) trying to see if they can build up 2x full time divisions of 10 or 12 clubs. The problem is, they would need to negotiate a much better deal from a broadcaster so that more money is available to the 2nd division (SL2?) because the current SL clubs would refuse a reduction in their funding. And I'm not sure a broadcaster would want anymore games to show. And Toronto seem to have arranged their own broadcast deal? So again, RFL need to actually plan, and stick to it and drive it forward. And that is the problem....

As has been stated, if they are good enough to make it into the top league then they deserve to be there regardless of who gets relegated and whatever system is in place at the time.

Having said that, I voted for Option 3 as clearly the OP has a chip on their shoulder and I'm more than happy to keep on antagonising his "little Englander" point of view.

Only in RL could you have a successful businessman with a passion for the game be rebuked and discouraged from looking to self fund an operation to expand the sports base and spread it around the world to more people. Anyone up for a topic about how crowds are dipping, playing standards dropping or we never get coverage in the national media?

Canada RL has announced Heineken as an official sponsor perhaps we could learn a thing or two

Quote ="Fields of Fire"Canada RL has announced Heineken as an official sponsor perhaps we could learn a thing or two'" Definitely. If anyone hasn't listened to the podcast with Eric Perez being interviewed by Dave Woods, I'd urge them to give it a listen. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02nrtx ... /downloads 14th July Starts about 5mins in. Some really good insight into Perez himself & how he's financially able to do what they're planning on doing etc. Woods asked a lot of questions that the everyday RL fan was asking when it was first announced, all answered extremely well.

Quote ="Fields of Fire"Canada RL has announced Heineken as an official sponsor perhaps we could learn a thing or two'" Definitely. If anyone hasn't listened to the podcast with Eric Perez being interviewed by Dave Woods, I'd urge them to give it a listen. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02nrtx ... /downloads 14th July Starts about 5mins in. Some really good insight into Perez himself & how he's financially able to do what they're planning on doing etc. Woods asked a lot of questions that the everyday RL fan was asking when it was first announced, all answered extremely well.

Quote ="Doom&Gloom Merchant"Definitely. If anyone hasn't listened to the podcast with Eric Perez being interviewed by Dave Woods, I'd urge them to give it a listen. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02nrtx ... /downloads 14th July Starts about 5mins in. Some really good insight into Perez himself & how he's financially able to do what they're planning on doing etc. Woods asked a lot of questions that the everyday RL fan was asking when it was first announced, all answered extremely well.'" There certainly making all the right noises set up looks good and they are starting from the bottom so know fast tacking apparently they have sold 3000 season tickets!!

Quote ="Doom&Gloom Merchant"Definitely. If anyone hasn't listened to the podcast with Eric Perez being interviewed by Dave Woods, I'd urge them to give it a listen. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02nrtx ... /downloads 14th July Starts about 5mins in. Some really good insight into Perez himself & how he's financially able to do what they're planning on doing etc. Woods asked a lot of questions that the everyday RL fan was asking when it was first announced, all answered extremely well.'" There certainly making all the right noises set up looks good and they are starting from the bottom so know fast tacking apparently they have sold 3000 season tickets!!

Quote ="Doom&Gloom Merchant"Definitely. If anyone hasn't listened to the podcast with Eric Perez being interviewed by Dave Woods, I'd urge them to give it a listen. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02nrtx ... /downloads 14th July Starts about 5mins in. Some really good insight into Perez himself & how he's financially able to do what they're planning on doing etc. Woods asked a lot of questions that the everyday RL fan was asking when it was first announced, all answered extremely well.'" I mentioned this in another post but, never mind fast tracking Toronto into SL, big Nige should ask him if he wants to take on some promotion for SL itself. The drive and enthusiasm from this guy is so far ahead of anything we've seen since the start of SL. The guy has vision, determination and plenty of ability to get the job done. He's set out what he wants to achieve and said exactly how he is going to do it. Nobody has come anywhere close in the European game. Instead, we just stumble along and hope that things will get better.

Quote ="Doom&Gloom Merchant"Definitely. If anyone hasn't listened to the podcast with Eric Perez being interviewed by Dave Woods, I'd urge them to give it a listen. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02nrtx ... /downloads 14th July Starts about 5mins in. Some really good insight into Perez himself & how he's financially able to do what they're planning on doing etc. Woods asked a lot of questions that the everyday RL fan was asking when it was first announced, all answered extremely well.'" I mentioned this in another post but, never mind fast tracking Toronto into SL, big Nige should ask him if he wants to take on some promotion for SL itself. The drive and enthusiasm from this guy is so far ahead of anything we've seen since the start of SL. The guy has vision, determination and plenty of ability to get the job done. He's set out what he wants to achieve and said exactly how he is going to do it. Nobody has come anywhere close in the European game. Instead, we just stumble along and hope that things will get better.

That comment represents a degree of incoherent stupidity only rarely expressed, even by you.

Your hatred of some M62 clubs is pathetic and so boring. Catalan & Toulouse should be in the French league, and Toronto in a Canadian league. Jean, is every French RL fan an annoying/wind up merchant like you ?

Really, ooooh i am so excited. think I need to go an have a ........

Just because he's an idiot, that doesn't mean we shouldn't be looking to expand our leagues. The publicity and growth in the game from letting in these clubs is great and long may it continue.

Maybe Leigh can play in the new Leigh Super League featuring Leigh Centurions, Leigh Miners Rangers and Leigh East. Then you can be the champions every year! Sounds great doesn't it.

Who said he is french I dont think so do you

Super League wasn't started as the English league, it was the European league. Whether you like it or not Internationalism is here to stay.

Just looks like a Leigh fan getting nervous.

Knew I'd get a 'few bites'....well done chaps !