I can see your point, but also if u went to the sevens event in dubai you would quickly realise the majority of the 100kplus over the two days know stuff all about union or rugby 7's they go there as its another social event another place to have a good time and get ed up...

The problem with sky wouldn't be a problem, I know fully well Orbit showtime network (OSN) would be very happy covering the event it would just the agreement between the uk network and aussie networks.

Obvisously the main costs would be the event its self with all the running costs and marketing it in the UAE. But i can see it being a successes aslong as its not done on the cheap but with aus contribution i doubt it.

I think i read on the Leeds board about how expensive it is whilst your here? well it can be as cheap as a weekend in london or as expensive there is hotels here for 30quid a night and cheap shopping and restaurants, but if you stay in a premium hotel such as atlantis palm it will be expensive... not every one in dubai is a ferrari driving 100k a year earner.

as a whole this is Dubai's main goal is to achieve greater tourism and bring sporting events to dubai as the property market is on its there is no oil here.

also reading skysports news it seems they was suggesting in future events.

Offer it to the UAE Govt for a million quid. If they want it great, if they don't so be it.

Who would it benefit?
The game MAY break even.
By the sounds of it loads of locals will go who do not give a rats ass about the game.
It will be shown in OZ and UK at some silly hour on pay TV that will hardly have an audience.
It will deprive at least one teams fans from seeing their Club play in the WCC at home.
It will make the game fall into the shadows more than it already is for the Oz fans.
Rotate it every year between Oz and the UK or let the winning Clubs Country have home advantage the following year until that League has a loss.

It might be ok having a big money Golf game in China or a Formula one race in the middle east but the WCC? come on.
Not lack of imagination, just reality.
How did the SOO go when they pushed it to Los Angeles back in the day (1987)? it was like a Park Game with free tickets given out for a crowd of under 10k.

it will be a majority of expats who would attened the game alot of south african's, new zealanders. aussies and english so it would have a market place... I can understand you saying they wont care about the game of rugby league going abit off topic i dont care for golf but i still went to the race to dubai golf cup and really enjoyed it was a great day and i would go again,, if this was a yearly event if people enjoyed it and it would raise the games profile which is a good thing and what rugby league is crying out for...

as far as breaking even it should make a great profit if run properly every event here gets the local companies in a frenzy and it should be sponsered to cover all cost which is very achieveable.

silly hours?? not really depending on the time of year dubai is 3 to 4 hours infront of uk not sure on the aus time difference. but why would this effect the auidence by the sounds of it all rugby back home is on pay tv no difference there.

depreiving teams fans to see the event live? well it couldnt be in a more netural place going from flights it the stop off point; flights to the uae are cheaper than to aus so if you was seriously going to fly to aus to watch the game this should be a plus to them.

well manly are the first team really to ask for the game to be played there in a few years? according to most the aussies dont see this game a big deal so no real loss then.

I aint saying its wrong for it not to be played here. And i can see why people dont think it will be a success as there is a lack of interest in england as it is but at the same time there is every chance people will see it as a great social event it will look very good to have a game played internationally outside its comfort zone and be successful maybe it won't and if its not then nothing lossed nothing gained go back to playing it at home. I had a BBQ when the leeds v warrington game was playing and about 15 people which i can honestly say none of them really knew about league but when it was on they soon started cheering and getting into it and that wasn't just the beer get the better of them they enjoyed it and watched the rest of the play off season in my bar on the complex with me, one game on telly can get 15 new people to league interest then an event like the wcc should get them hooked..

and who knows it may even get the companies over here interested in further sponsorship of super league not saying it will but its more of a chance than it not even being tested.

Events like this over here generally create a big audience so i just cant see it being a 10k attendence..

I think its a good idea and should be tested it may never happen but at least it shows that some one is thinking of trying to help rugby and not just let it stay stagnent like it has so far.

Each to their own opinion.
I am an Australian by the way.
I think shifting games to Hong Kong and Dubai and the like do bugger all long term.
Did playing NFL games in London over the years get Gridiron to any level in England?
Dubai is 7 hours behind Australia, if they played a night game it would be on after midnight in Oz.
If they were to pick a neutral location I would much rather see it where that country may embrace the game (perhaps the USA) and at least be a place that may attract some fans to see the game and stay for a holiday.

I am not sure if Dubai is up there as a holiday destination in the UK but I know it is not in Australia.

Flight time from Sydney to Dubai is around 15 hours, hardly a weekend stop over is it? Los Angeles is closer and a fair bit more attractive to most Australians.

There is an opinion amongst some that playing an "Event" (not sure if the WCC qualifies as one) is some exotic benchmark that lifts a games profile.
I do not think this is the case, I doubt many other Aussies would either.

Has it been decided which stadium IN LEEDS the WCC is to be staged yet?

It would have to be the one with the condemned stands I believe, (it sounds Third World when you think about it)

Could be either Headingley (South Stand condemned) or Elland Road (East Stand Upper condemned) then.

To be fair, both venues are of a Third World appearance these days

Odsal would be a delightful alternative in the rain.

there is alot of aussies here already, a flight from the uk to aus stop off destination is dubai on alot of flights now. Dubai is becoming alot more of a holiday destination now but it has a image of being really strict and an very expensive destination when in truth it isn't either of them. everyone has there favourable places to vist but i had family friends recently move back to LA from here and they wasn't looking forward to it at all. the biggest potential here in dubai is for companies to see the oppertunity to invest in superleague that could be a big boost to rl in england. and time zone is hardly better in the uk for aus is it really? either way i doubt it will ever happen i just dont think people should spin it off as a negative with out trying it or knowing the full facts, as it stands the wcc is hardly a rip roaring success right now and to experiment with it wont hinder its success

I'm with you dubairl, we have expates over there, it's a neutral ground for both teams plus we have a small growing RL set up in the region already and they have money to throw away that RL needs. And who knows, an Arab Billionaire might go to the match and decide to invest in the code, after all, some of the Saudi teams have had Royalty playing in them already and Ferrari sponsor them also.

It'll end up at the Galpharm, we all know it.

this year i 100 percent agree it should be in the uk, but for as the future it should be given a good thought and not be rushed or done on the cheap.

Better there than Headingley.

If it's at Headingley, it's an absolute disgrace to the event. This game deserves far far more than that. A ground that holds less than 20k because parts of it are condemned sends out an awful image for what is supposed to be a flagship event.

What about Bramall Lane?