Rugby League’s value to community could help secure £20m government bail-out
RUGBY LEAGUE may get the Government financial backing it has asked for because of its value to local communities.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is set to give its verdict on RFL chief Ralph Rimmer’s request for help through the coronavirus shutdown.
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A £20million bailout package is being talked about.
Government sources told SunSport the DCMS recognises ‘the many benefits rugby league brings to our communities’.
Rimmer wrote a letter to the DCMS and then Sports Minister Nigel Adams as the Covid-19 crisis hit the game, which is not cash rich.
Now, as the response looms, some hope has come from Westminster.
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SunSport revealed MPs are helping the fight via the All-Party Parliamentary Rugby League Group.
Chair Judith Cummins said: “Rugby league is a force for good in our communities and I know it will play its part in responding responsibly to the public health emergency.”
And Wigan MP Lisa Nandy spelled out just how vital it is the sport keeps going.
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She wrote: “The sport deserves better and the thousands of boys and girls who play it every weekend do too.
“Few sports encapsulate a place like rugby league does.
“The survival and success of rugby league is a symbolic test for the Government’s commitment to our towns.
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“A commitment to rugby league is a commitment to the identity, aspirations and social cohesion of the towns which play the sport. In many towns, the sport is the sole sporting identity they have.
“I hope the Government works with the sport to safeguard it for future generations.
“In towns like mine, the sport means that much to people.”