Re: Northern England's Fear of Expansion!

Quote: Levrier "We all know that we have an image problem that holds us back. If you look at EuroSport you will also see a fair number of unfashionable or minor events which year in year out have high profile sponsors. I do not know what Longines watches (a Swatch brand) will pay to be associated with the regional final of Basque Pelota or Provencale Petanque but I imagine that the offer of a weekend in Aix holds more attractions than Wigan or St Helens. Here is an idea, what about a made for television event like a sevens competition mid season in a location overlooking the Med with UK and European teams sold for all it is worth. Union manages to sell the whole world sevens circus without distracting the big players from their major competitions. Of course if we tried we would probably announce it without a headline sponsor or tv deal and then dump the idea after one season. One last point, this concept is not new. Clubs in England and France already run similar so we know that the logistics work. The important point is to get a high calibre headline sponsor and a tv friendly format and a bit of glamour. world of sport wrestling is back on ITV, but we cannot get them to even bid for RL.