Martin Coyd is a Director of Health & Safety in the Engineering & Construction Sectors and works on projects worldwide.

Prior to this, Warrington born, Martin served in the Royal Engineers for 18 years. Martin was instrumental in the establishment of Rugby League in the Armed Forces in the early 90’s. Martin has a leading role in the Building Mental Health Framework and was appointed to the UK Thriving at Work Leadership Council. Martin was an early adopter of Mental Health First Aid in 2011 and is a practicing MHFA instructor and Suicide First Aid practitioner.

Martin is a Stonewall Champion, the first from the Construction Sector, and was named in the Financial Times OUTstanding Global Top 30 LGBT Executive Allies list in 2015.

Martin was named in the SHP list of the 10 Most Influential in Health and Safety in The UK in 2017, 2018 & 2019.

He is currently Chair of Wheelchair Rugby League and General Manager of the England Team who are preparing for the World Cup in 2026. Martin leads a Rugby League club in Kent and plays Masters (red shorts).

Martin was appointed to the Rugby Football League Roll of Honour in 2011, awarded The Spirit of Rugby League Award in 2013 and honoured with Life Membership of the Parliamentary Rugby League Group in 2016.

Martin was also awarded an OBE in 2013.

Marc was introduced to Rugby League relatively late, having never played the sport. Born in South Wales, he was witness to an entire generation of Welsh Rugby union greats being lured north. In his own words he expressed that he “successfully avoided Rugby League for years” until he moved to Oldham, where much to his dismay, a Rugby League legend living next door converted his children from union to league players. That’s where Marc's journey in Rugby League began.

Marc started as a volunteer for one of his sons' teams, which quickly snowballed into taking on more responsibilities. Before long, he became Chairman of one of the largest community clubs in Rugby League. From there, Marc applied for a role as Club and Competition Manager at the RFL in 2014, and in 2018, he was appointed Director of Development.

Today, Marc leads a team of 28 incredible people who work across the entire community game, consistently delivering growth year on year, with exception of the COVID years. His personal highlights include the England Community Lions winning the U19s European Championship, the development of the women’s and girls’ game, the introduction of PDRL and LDRL, and the England Wheelchair team winning the World Cup. Marc is proud to be part of a truly inclusive sport that makes a real difference to the communities it serves.

Kelly Barrett is proudly the longest-serving member of staff at the RFL and has dedicated almost 30 years to community Rugby League; driving the RFL’s values forward and putting the community of our great sport at the forefront. Kelly began her career at BARLA, where she played a crucial role in supporting the unification process in 2003.

Throughout her career, Kelly has held various, vital roles, each contributing to her extensive experience as a sports administrator. Her commitment and expertise have made her an invaluable asset to the organisation.

Today, Kelly holds the title of Head of Delivery for Community Game Competitions, where she continues to lead and shape the future of community Rugby League.

Neil Ashton is the English Schools representative on the community board and the RFL Council Neil is a PE and Assistant Head teacher at St Peter’s Catholic High School in Wigan and has been involved in the Champion Schools since its relaunch in 2002.

Neil has supported several teams to local, regional and National success – in 2012 his school were the first in history to have all 5 age groups qualify for the National stages of the Champion Schools. This achievement, alongside his work convening Wigan and Leigh Schools, resulted in Neil being recognised as English Schools Rugby League Teacher of the Year for 2012.

Furthermore, Neil currently chairs the Wigan & Leigh Schools Rugby League, demonstrating his commitment to fostering participation and growth opportunities at every level of the game.

Yorkshire-born, Fred Baker lives in Shropshire where he works as a research technician at a local University.

Fred first became a fan of Rugby League when a family friend took him to Wiggington Road to watch York as a child.

In 1999, he moved from East Yorkshire to Shropshire and was an administrator, coach and eventually chairperson of Telford Raiders.

Over the last twenty years, he has played a major part in the growth of Rugby League across the Midlands. For many years he has been involved in the Midlands Steering Groups which have pushed forward the development of the junior and senior game in the region and currently chairs the Southern Regions Development forum.

He is an active level 2 coach and has previously been involved at RPDC and Midlands’ u18s level. Most recently he has coached Telford Raiders women’s, men’s and junior teams.

Jake Brook has been an active match official for 15 years, involved in all aspects of the game, from community levels to the professional stage. Recently, he took up refereeing Wheelchair Rugby League, a role he has embraced for the past two years. A highlight of his refereeing journey was officiating the GB Students vs Turkey match in 2018 in Turkey, where he was part of the touring party dedicated to expanding the game in a developing Rugby nation.

Jake has also been actively involved in the administration and league management of the Women's Winter League for several years. He is passionate about growing participation opportunities for all players.

In addition to his refereeing duties, Jake serves as a Match Officials Welfare Officer. He has a broader interest in safeguarding and is committed to ensuring that Rugby League fosters the right environment and culture for everyone to thrive.

Mark Cordeaux has worked in the sports sector since 2017 and has gained valuable experience at a National Governing Body during his time with Basketball England. He currently works for the national sports-for-development charity StreetGames, which harnesses the power of sport to bring about positive change in the lives of young people living in underserved communities. Mark plays a key role in StreetGames' Inspiration Campaign, which connects young people in these communities to major sporting events, with Rugby League being a significant focus since the campaign's inception in 2022.

Mark's Rugby League journey began during his time at the University of Sheffield, where he played and served on the committee during a successful period for the club. During this time, he earned representative honours for Yorkshire and was part of the Scotland Students Squad for the 2017 Student World Cup in Australia and the 2018 Four Nations campaign. He also represented the GB Pioneers on their 2016 tour to Hungary, participating in a test match and a 9s tournament, while also supporting local communities through coaching sessions.

Most recently, Mark volunteered as part of the media operations team for the Rugby League World Cup and has been involved in coaching teams at the U15 and U16 levels.

Steve has worked in sport development in the higher education sector since 2008 and is currently Director of Commercial Services University of Hull. Having previously held the Head of Sport role, he continues as the strategic lead for Sport and Active Wellbeing. Steve is the Universities representative on the Community Board, and a member of the board at Active Humber and the Independent Chair for Hull KR's Academy Management Board.

Steve has been involved in University Rugby League since 2001, initially as a player, coach, committee member and more recently he has chaired the British Universities & Colleges (BUCS) Rugby League Sport Advisor Group, a position held since 2014.

Steve has been the Tour Manager for the GB Student Pioneers since 2010, taking the Pioneers to emerging countries across Europe and Africa to develop the great sport of Rugby League.

Steve's is still a regular RL Touch player in Hull.

Anji is a member of the NCL Management Group and is a keen supporter of both the amateur and professional game. She is a co-founder and Trustee of the West Hull Community Hub, one of the first RFL Community Wellbeing Hubs to be introduced.

Anji has worked with in Higher Education for over 28 years, currently working at the University of Salford and previously at the University of Hull. She has held senior roles across clinical practice, as an academic and professional services. Anji is a passionate advocate for inclusion and community engagement, working with a number of local organisations as part of her work with the West Hull Community Hub.

Steve has a wealth of experience in the Rugby League community game, accumulated over the last 15 years.

He has coached age groups from Under 8 through to Under 18, at three different clubs, and for the last ten years he has been coaching at Emley Moor ARLFC. Steve also brings valuable knowledge and experience in club administration and governance, being club secretary at Emley Moor, a role he has occupied for the last seven years. During his tenure he has been involved in the rapid growth in player participation, the introduction of the club’s first Girls section and a new clubhouse build, having secured RLWC2021 Createdby funding.

Having three sons, two of which remain active in the sport, and following two professional Rugby League teams, Steve is never far away from a pitch! Away from Rugby League, Steve brings strategic and leadership skills and significant experience accumulated over many years working in large public sector organisations.

Nick Leigh’s passion for Rugby League began when he moved to the city of Leeds in 2010, within a couple of years he had become a season ticket holder at his local club: Leeds Rhinos. Nick was playing Rugby union at the time but absolutely loved the thrill of watching Rugby League.

In 2018 Nick had stopped playing Rugby union altogether, being born with two clubbed feet his body could no longer handle the strain of training twice a week and playing a full 80 minutes on a weekend on muddy pitches. Nick had very much settled into just enjoying watching the great sport that is Rugby League.

Following COVID Nick had heard about physical disability Rugby League (PDRL) at a dinner event, held at Leeds Rhinos and was instantly keen to find out more. Following the event, Nick had made enquiries and found himself playing in 2022, during his debut season; Leeds won the Grand Final to become champions for the first time. He had also impressed enough to earn a call up to the World Cup squad for England where he went on to win the tournament with his team-mates. Nick’s personal highlights included being named player of the match against Wales and scoring the first try in the final.

Nick states that he has seen firsthand what disability sport can do for people that never believed that they would ever be able to play a team sport at any level, he’s seen the friendships it can create and the hope that it can instil.

Nick’s day job is finance manager working in the built environment, but he is heavily involved in the inclusion and diversity aspects as well. Nick co-chairs the disability employee network and was given an award in 2023 for being the leader in the business for helping improve inclusion and diversity, this was out of four and a half thousand employees.

London born Tracey grew up in Suffolk but relocated and has now settled in the North West.

Tracey has had a varied career background in Fashion Buying, Event Planning and working in the NHS (hospital, and ambulance service) in PR and Communications.

Tracey was introduced to the world of grassroots Rugby when her son joined Portico Vine ARLFC in St Helens.

After supporting the club with fundraising, Tracey was appointed to the Senior Committee as Events Manager from 2020 to 2023, to help generate funds through events to build a new state of the art clubhouse, as well as establishing a RFL recognised Community Hub.

Tracey was responsible for planning and delivering large-scale events, from the opening day to themed days such as The Coronation of the King, to leading on the RLWC21 events including the Secretary of State visit, launch of the Blazing a Trail / Social Impact Strategy, and the incredible 'Tonga Day' where the International Tongan team and their community came to St Helens!

Success in this role also involved writing and sourcing funding bids, this started during the pandemic when the club desperately needed some income.

This voluntary position inspired a passion for wanting to make a difference and lead to employment at her local Hospice as the Digital Marketing and Communications Officer. Through building strong networking connections made during volunteering, this worked together hand in hand with local charities, community groups and organisations.

When Tracey isn't working, she enjoys baking and is also Chair of a PTA and Chair of a dance school committee but most importantly, is a proud Rugby and dance mum to her three children...and shares a season ticket for the Saints with her Evertonian husband!!

Lee Mitchell currently works at Warrington Foundation as Rugby League Development Manager.

Previously, Lee has played at professional level for Warrington Wolves, Leigh Centurions, Harlequins, Castleford Tigers, Whitehaven, Batley and Rochdale. In addition to coaching Warrington Wolves Reserves and their Women and Girls teams.

Stuart’s playing days started in the Early 1980’s when Orrell St James was a fledgling nomadic club, Stuart played as a Hooker, a position he kept until his senior days, however Stuart’s Senior career took him to play Rugby Union with Orrell RUFC and later Aspull but was cut short through injury at an early age. It was not until 1999 when his eldest son wanted to take up the game with his friends that Stuart’s relationship started with Wigan St Patricks. Stuart soon became a committee member and held various positions but was known more for his work with the Youth and Junior sections.

Stuart later got involved with BARLA and got elected to the board of management in the late 2000’s and represented BARLA at the Community board from 2010 until 2012.

Stuart soon became a manager on international Rugby running the BARLA U17’s for 4 successful years then taking on board the managers role for the RFL’S then Community Lions which soon became the England Lions. Stuart looked after tours to South Africa, Australia, and Fiji to mention a few. Stuart now leads on the RFL’s Lionhearts program which is based around regional representative Rugby offering committed players the opportunity to represent their region and country on development tours.

Stuart dedication to Rugby League also sees him as Chair of the North West Men’s League and he sits on the RFL’s Regulatory group and Community Board international group.

In what little time Stuart has left he commits to his business and his volunteering work. Stuart Business is property investments and developments, and he is the Chair of a Multi Academy trust.

Sue is Rugby League through-and-through. She hails from Huddersfield the birthplace of the sport and has been a loyal servant to the community game for longer than she cares to remember (50 years). In fact, it was through Rugby League, and specifically the Underbank club, that Sue met her husband, John. It was the start of a lifelong love affair…with John and Rugby League! She even became Underbank secretary for a short period of time, performed similar roles at St Joseph’s, and in 1989 helped set up the Newsome Magpies club – now known as Newsome Panthers.

Sue’s dedication to the Huddersfield Amateur League saw her became Public Relations Officer and benefitting from her business acumen and experience took on the role of treasurer and secretary, a position still held along with the Pennine League.

After 28 years, Sue retired in 2012 from her position as a Company Secretary.

She became the first female chair of the British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA) in 2013, her longevity in that role, which also involves representing BARLA on the Rugby League Council, led her to being appointed as Vice-President of the RFL in June 2022, an honorary position held during the World Cup for 18 months until December 2023

Added to the RFL Roll of Honour 2022 as an acknowledgement of her contribution to the game.

The 2023 birthday honours list for King Charles III Sue received an MBE for her contributions to Rugby League.