You can say the same about Luton, Leicester, Wolves, Aston Villa and Birmingham in football.Large Asian populations but support base 95% white.All the London clubs too.You can’t force people to be interested in something.We have ice hockey here in Widnes (somewhere) and I am not one iota intetested in going along to see a game.
That is a great point, however, I disagree slightly having been many arsenal games, I can assure you that there’s a good proportion of black supporters. Ultimately, maybe it’s due to the price of ticket as to why Asians or Blacks don’t flock to football games as much as white peoples but wether BAME go to the games or not, they are still interested in football.
Whereas, in RL at a community level in places like Bradford there just isn’t the interest levels in Rugby League. In essence, this is why expansion is flawed, how can you expand in Coventry when you can’t even expand in Bradford.
Bradford may not get back to its glory days with crowds of 15,000 plus, but they did attract a crowd of over 10,000 for the cup game against Leeds in 2019. This does perhaps show that if they could get a team capable of competing in SL, there is the potential to attract crowds at least on a par with Warrington, St Helens and Wigan and a lot more than most teams in SL.
Having said that, if they are given the 12th spot the cry of fix will be heard throughout the game and the reputation of the RFL will sink even lower. Even Rimmer would not risk that, would he?
Like Widnes, Bradford should be aiming to get into SL by winning games, not on the back of at best a questionable process.
If there is any intention to expand the game, the only real choice is to give the spot to Toulouse or London.
'Bradford may not get back to its glory days with crowds of 15,000 plus, but they did attract a crowd of over 10,000 for the cup game against Leeds in 2019. This does perhaps show that if they could get a team capable of competing in SL, there is the potential to attract crowds at least on a par with Warrington, St Helens and Wigan and a lot more than most teams in SL.'
How many of them were actually Bradford fans? Leeds are arguably the best support team in SL, and are Bradfords nearest neighbours so I would bet that atleast 6,000 in that crowd were actually Leeds fans.
Probably the reason they got a 10,000 crowd was that it was a Derby match against their local SL rivals, who they hadn’t played for a while, and weren’t playing that well at the time, so they thought, rightly, that they could beat them, and Leeds would have took a lot of fans with them, with it only being about 10-15 miles away.
You'd like to think that even the RFL would be too embarrassed to pick Bradford and want to avoid a backlash but I'm not so sure.After all this is the organisation which deemed an amateur set up in south wales not 4 years old to be fit for Super League and a superior applicant to that of their rivals who had better stadia and infrastructure.Who then went t1ts up just 3 years later and withdrew from SL.
Many good comments made hear, but at the end of the day this is RL
anything can happen and the way it is looking bradfraud are the front runners
I will stick by my original prediction of London or Toulouse getting the place.I would'nt bet 50 pence on it though.
Toulouse would be the logical choice, but I’m cynical enough to think Bradford have a chance.
No chance of Bradford getting the nod. Toulouse or Leigh with Newcastle joining us. Degsy is has recruited for the place and to gain promotion if they don't get the spot, I suspect that the selection panel will be just as complacent and have no connection with anyone like O’Haras who handled our administration.
I have to agree with MT.
Toulouse was a certainty for SL but re-reading the criteria and seeing the news being pumped out about “revitalising” a decrepit Odsal, it looks like Nigel & Co will be successful in getting Bradford promoted.
Whoever goes up will come straight back down unless Salford or Wakefield implode in the meantime.
Deffo better out of this charade, still think bradfraud are getting it, lots of noise about it, but they for sure will be straight down.
getting promoted from the championship will be a hard job for sure, but if Toulouse get overlooked for SLmwill their backer continue, if you recall they pulled out back to the french league previous
I would'nt be at all surprised if relegation was suddenly put on hold for two years.I can see it now- "Would'nt be fair to expect a new SL team from the championship with only 10 weeks preparation" etc.
The other clubs aren't bothered, makes their position better. Bradford suits them down to the ground.
Current 11:
Yorkshire: Leeds, Hull, Hull KR, Castleford, Wakefield, Huddersfield.
North West: Wigan, Saints, Wire, Salford.
France: Catalans
So a 7th Yorkshire club, pleases the others as more derbies, bigger gates and more than likely 4 points. Providing crowds get back to normal by Easter.
Also, less travelling costs: no flights and accommodation to Toulouse, no trips to London.
In fact, thinking about it, we would probably have more 'long range' trips: Toulouse, London, Whitehaven, potentially Newcastle.
No chance of Bradford getting the nod. Toulouse or Leigh with Newcastle joining us. Degsy is has recruited for the place and to gain promotion if they don’t get the spot, I suspect that the selection panel will be just as complacent and have no connection with anyone like O’Haras who handled our administration.
Prepare to be surprised.