“Backing the Best” campaign – aiming to create a new route for young athletes into Rugby League

The Rugby Football League are delighted to announce that a brand-new initiative aimed at creating a new route for young athletes into the sport will be launched in 2025 through Sport England’s “Backing the Best” campaign, managed by SportsAid.

Awakening Rugby League in the City (ARC) will see the creation of a pathway for talented athletes who may never have considered playing Rugby League an opportunity to experience the game for the first time in a supported environment.

The RFL will use the awarded funds to work alongside Salford Red Devils and Swinton Lions to deliver ARC within Manchester and Bradford Bulls and Community Lions Foundation in West Yorkshire.

The “Backing the Best” campaign focuses on supporting talented athletes who would face difficulties progressing through their sport’s talent development system without critical financial help.

Backing the Best Programme Manager, Joanna Benham, said:

“SportsAid’s Backing the Best Programme is delighted to be supporting Rugby League on their journey to further diversify their talent pathway. They have proposed and planned fantastic new initiatives to attract and recruit young people targeting specific communities in Bradford and Manchester.

“The deliberate approach to these communities will allow the sports to break down barriers and enable young people who would not have previously had the opportunity to play Rugby League and be nurtured through a more diverse talent pathway.”

RFL Director of Development, Marc Lovering, explained:

“We are excited to begin this new project reaching participants from groups and places we haven’t before. Manchester as the home of our organisation was a clear choice with a limited number of young people playing within the city, so we want to seize this opportunity to engage them within our sport. Bradford was chosen as a second location because Rugby League is in its DNA and is one of the sport’s most diverse cities.”