Eddie Hearn claims rugby league is ‘bang in trouble’ after being denied control of sport
Promoter Eddie Hearn claims that rugby league is ‘bang in trouble’ after being denied control of the sport by chiefs who approached him.
Hearn, along with his father, have been the brains behind the rebranding of sports like snooker and darts while also being leading lights in boxing promotion. Hearn is the chairman of the PDC and the sport has boomed in the last few years selling out venues and drawing in fans watching on Sky Sports.
Due to their success in revolutionising sports, Matchroom founder Barrie and his son Eddie were approached by the Rugby Football League (RFL) in 2018 and asked for advice in how to promote the sport.
READ MORE: Rugby League club who changed name show off ‘angry’ new mascot and glam cheerleaders
Hearn has revealed that the RFL wanted Matchroom to focus on promoting the Challenge Cup and a ‘few different elements’. However, during an appearance on The Good, The Bad and The Rugby podcast Hearn said he refused after wanting complete control of the sport.
He says that the sport is ‘bang in trouble’ due to not any household names and feels that the sport’s stars need highlighting.
“Rugby league is absolutely bang in trouble,” Hearn said. “They wanted us to come in and look at the Challenge Cup and a few different elements of the game and I said ‘no, we need to control the game’.
“It has to be built and the problem is that both [rugby] codes aren’t delivering numbers. Away from the big international stuff, the reality is that viewing figures are horrendous and the reason is because you don’t have any stars.
Do you agree that rugby league is in trouble? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section
“I’m a promoter of individuals really but to promote a sport essentially, you have to highlight those people and make them stars.”
Hearn has previously spoken more in depth about the frank conversation he had with the RFL. In 2020 the promoter told the Financial Times that he felt rugby league was “beyond f***ed”.
“They said: ‘Would you come in, do what you’ve done for boxing and darts?’ We can, but we have to own it all,” Hearn said. “‘Ooh, f***ing hell, we can’t do that.’ I said, so then we’re not interested. ‘But can’t you come in and promote the Challenge Cup?’
“F*** no. Either we rip up the script and we do it our way, or we don’t bother. Cos it’s f***ed, rugby league. Beyond f***ed.”
READ NEXT: