by Rugby Football League has been informed that it will not receive the next episode of financing from the government next month, unless it responds to concerns in Westminster about sport governance.
Sport England officials are expected to meet the RFL management team of the interim president, Nigel Wood, and the CEO, Tony Sutton, this week to resolve the problem, with the next payment of a government funding package of 16 million pounds Sterling in danger.
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During preliminary discussions to organize the meeting, the RFL was informed that it will not receive payment next month without providing satisfactory answers concerning the recent modifications of its board of directors to Sport England, which will be represented by its president, Chris Boardman, and the acting director general, Phil Smith.
Sport England is supposed to believe that the RFL’s decision to install wood as an interim chair can have violated the code of sports governance, because it does not seem to have followed an “open and transparent” recruitment process.
Compliance with the code, which establishes minimum standards concerning transparency, diversity and inclusion, responsibility and integrity, is a prerequisite for the guiding bodies of the government’s financing and the national lottery.
In relation: Hull dominant kr see wigan to go to six points clearly at the top of the Super League
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An RFL spokesperson said: “The RFL works with Sport England on a governance action plan, following the resignations of the board of directors earlier in 2025, which required transitional arrangements.
“We appreciate the need for sport engine to reassure that our answer will remain fully in accordance with the code for sports governce – the new RFL board of directors is completely determined for this.
“The exceptional work delivered by sport, made possible in part by the financing of Sport England, continues unaffected.”
Government money is essential to the Rugby League, whose finances have been stretched in recent years by the impact of the COVVI-19 pandemic and the collapse of the value of its main broadcasting agreement with Sky Sports, which pays the clubs of the Super League about half of what it was five years ago to televise its matches. Salford is fighting for their future following a disastrous takeover which left them only two senior players due to the late payment of wages, which led to cancel several of their matches, including a Super League match.
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The RFL receives 16 million pounds over five years from the government as part of an agreement managed by Sport England, with the money used to finance the end of the sport elite, represented by the international teams of England and the development of the basic game and recreation.
Sport England’s concerns are around the processes involved in the return of wood after the resignation of former president of the RFL Simon Johnson and three other directors this year. Wood was previously Managing Director of the RFL for 11 years and received a starting package of £ 300,000 after his departure in 2018, which represented nearly a sixth of the losses of the Director organ at the time.
The sports governance code stipulates that chairs of the guiding bodies must be independent, but Wood was president of the Bradford championship club before being appointed. Although he has given up this role at Bradford, he retains significant minority participation in the club, according to House companies.
Wood was first returned to the RFL in March as senior executive director and has since been appointed president of Rugby League Commercial, the body that manages sales of radiodiffusion and sport sponsorship.
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In addition to Wood’s links with Bradford, Sport England should ask questions about the processes involved in his appointment and if other candidates have been questioned.
In March, RFL sources insisted that it would not be a long -term arrangement, but that does not seem to be the case.
Since his return to the RFL Wood has played a decisive role in driving a Super League expansion of 12 to 14 clubs for next season, although Hull FC, Hull Kr and Wigan Warriors have not approved the plan when it was voted by the other nine clubs last month. In another twist, Bradford is one of the clubs that push to be promoted from the championship to the enlarged Super League, which raised the eyebrows given the previous role of Wood.
As the Guardian revealed last month, Sky Sports has not yet approved the expansion and clearly indicated that he will not provide additional funding to additional clubs to cover the last season of his three -year television agreement, which expires at the end of next season. In addition, it is not clear that will cover the approximate cost of £ 500,000 on television from an additional match on 27 laps next season.
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In relation: The Salford crisis is deepened with the Wakefield match canceled on social concerns
Some championship clubs in the running for the promotion as part of the expansion plans indicated that they were ready to enter the Super League without central funding next season, which raised new concerns concerning its competitiveness in the light of the Débacle de Salford.
Salford was beaten 80-6 by the Hull FC last week before the match on Sunday against Wakefield was canceled due to concerns about the safety of young players and the test lists they planned to survive.
Salford owner Dario Berta said the club would not go bankrupt. They are due to court next month on an unpaid tax bill of nearly £ 700,000.
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• This article was modified on August 18 and 20, 2025. Nigel Wood is a principal executive director, not a “independent senior director” of the RFL and does not appear on the board of directors of the Bradford Club as indicated in a previous version. In addition, while Salford has canceled several games, only one of them was an element of the Super League; And the club’s financial situation, and others in the Super League, is not directly linked to the financing of Sport England as previously suggested.
