The new head of English rugby league has backed a call for Prime Minister Andy Burnham to approve a £30m five-year community funding plan for the sport.
Former England international Jon Wilkin has appealed directly to Burnham and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, both rugby league fans, to pledge government money to a rugby league-based social impact project.
Ian Nolan, the new chief executive of the Rugby Football League, has supported Wilkin’s plea, issued on BBC Radio 5 Live on Monday.
Wilkin wants Burnham and Nandy to follow the lead of Australia’s government, which in July announced it was committing A$250m (£130m), external over 10 years to the Pacific Rugby League Partnership.
That initiative is designed to help create sporting, educational and employment opportunities in Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Samoa and Fiji, and is being led by the Australian Rugby League Commission – the sport’s national governing body.
Wilkin has argued that a similar plan for the north of England would benefit deprived communities.
He said: “Australia has recognised rugby league’s potential as a vehicle for social change, committing hundreds of millions to developing communities, especially across the Pacific. Why shouldn’t Britain show the same ambition for the north?
“The infrastructure already exists, the clubs, the foundations, the school and community relationships are already well established. What’s missing is a coordinated strategy and meaningful government investment.
“The ask would be simple: For the government to establish a £30m five-year Northern Rugby League social impact partnership, bringing together the RFL, professional clubs, community foundations, local authorities and government departments.
“The programme would target disadvantaged northern communities.”
Nolan, a former Manchester United executive who took up his role with the RFL on 1 October, suggested the social benefits of such an initiative would be felt more quickly because rugby league clubs are already established in their communities.
“When the government normally invest in community hubs and new things to generate something, they tend to be brand new,” he said. “And it’s really difficult then to attract people to go there because it’s a new habit, it’s a new place.
“But rugby clubs are already established in the most deprived towns in the UK. And that’s the difference. People already go there. Families already rely on them for even just moving around.”
A Department for Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson told BBC Sport: “For over 130 years, rugby league has made a huge contribution to our society.
“This government, through Sport England, has committed £15.7m to rugby league up to 2029 and we are investing £400m into upgrading grassroots sports facilities.
“We are aware of the concerns of the RFL and will continue to work with them to ensure rugby league gets the fair treatment, support and long-term investment it so richly deserves.”