Just thought you might like to have a read of the Franchise Frequently asked questions that has just come out.

The RFL have sent out the following Super League licensing frequently asked questions. Posted below for info.

What are the aims and objectives of Super League licensing?

Licensing is a central factor in ensuring Super League reaches its aim of being the best elite Rugby League competition in the world. Licensing is designed to ensure:

The promotion and continuous improvement of the standard of Rugby League in the UK and the training of young players in each club.
The impact of the Super League is broadened beyond its traditional heartlands, and the development of the league in strategically significant areas is continued.
Super League clubs have appropriate management and organisational systems in place and to promote the highest standards of financial and business management of clubs.
The promotion of high quality infrastructure in order to provide players, staff, spectators and media with well appointed, well equipped and safe environments.
The promotion of the highest standards in clubs commercial, marketing, media and community departments.
To satisfy the requirement to ensure a financially strong company Super League through sponsorship and broadcast revenue
What period is the next licence for?

The next round of licences will be awarded for the period 2012 to 2014.

Who will decide which clubs obtain a licence for 2012 to 2014?

The independent RFL Board will determine who gains membership to the Super League in 2012. The board’s decisions will be based on a detailed and comprehensive assessment of each club’s application.

Who will carry out the assessment?

The assessment process is co-ordinated by the RFL’s own executive with further specialist contributions from external agencies, including property consultants Savills and financial experts KPMG.

Who sits on the independent RFL Board?

The board comprises five members, none of whom have club affiliations - RFL Chairman Richard Lewis, RFL Chief Executive Nigel Wood and three non-executive directors: Clare Morrow, Bob Stott and Maurice Watkins.

Clare Morrow is Chair of the tourism marketing agency Welcome to Yorkshire and has previously worked in television with ITV Yorkshire, where she was Controller of News and Regional Programming and Head of Sport.

Bob Stott was a director of supermarket group Morrisons plc for over 20 years, including a period as chief executive. He is a non-executive director of the Leeds Building Society, the Greyhound Board for Great Britain and bakery group Frank Roberts and Sons.

Maurice Watkins is a senior partner at Brabner Chaffe Street and one of the country’s most prominent sports lawyers. He is also a director of Manchester United, a director for the British Association for Sport and Law and a member of the FA Premier League Legal Advisory Group.

Has a club from the Championship already been awarded a licence?

Yes, Widnes Vikings were awarded a licence on March 31 after their application was assessed as the strongest from a Championship club alongside that of Barrow Raiders and Halifax.

The decision was announced in March to give Widnes extra time to make the transition from being a predominantly part-time operation to being a full-time, fully professional Super League club.

Halifax were deemed to have met minimum standards and their application went on to be reassessed alongside those of the existing 14 Engage Super League clubs. Barrow did not meet minimum standards and were eliminated from the assessment process.

What criteria did the Championship clubs have to meet?

The minimum criteria for a Championship club to be awarded a Super League licence are:

Club has reached a Championship Final or won the Northern Rail Cup in 2009 or 2010.
Club has a stadium with an operational capacity of 10,000.
Club has turnover of at least £1,000,000 in financial year ending 2009 or 2010 (turnover of charitable Foundation can be included in this figure).
Club has an average attendance of at least 2500 in 2009 or 2010
When did the Super League clubs submit their applications?

Super League clubs were required to submit their applications by close of business on Friday April 1, 2011.

What happens if Halifax’s application is stronger than that of two existing Super League clubs?

Halifax’s application has been assessed alongside that of the 14 existing Super League clubs. Should their application be deemed to be stronger than that of two other clubs, Halifax will be awarded a licence and two Super League clubs will not have their licences renewed.

Has the assessment process changed from the last round of Super League licensing?

In the last round of licensing, clubs were initially assessed and awarded points on reaching minimum standards. In this round of licensing, clubs will be assessed against A Grade criteria. The figures and information used within the criteria are those of a perceived A Grade club (for example 5,000 season ticket holders, audited turnover of at least £4 million, no insolvency event between 2008 and 2010). These criteria are designed to reflect the advancing standards within Super League, and take account of the feedback received from clubs following the last round of licensing.

How have the applications been assessed?

Clubs have been assessed on criteria in 5 key areas:

Commercial, Marketing, Media and Community.
Facilities.
Finance.
Governance and Business Management.
Playing Strength and Player Performance Strategy.
Clubs that meet all of the A Grade criteria across the 5 areas will be awarded an A Grade licence. Clubs that materially meet all the A Grade criteria and/or satisfy the RFL that they will meet the criteria in the next round of licensing will be awarded a B Grade licence.

The RFL will then allocate the remaining Super League licences to those existing Super League clubs and/or Championship clubs which applied for a licence and met the Championship Club Minimum Criteria. The licences will be allocated to those clubs that the RFL board believes are the most suitable, taking into account the:

Extent to which each club helps meet the SLE Strategy and the strategic aims and objectives of the Licensing process;
Historical activity of the clubs under consideration; and
RFL’s reasonable opinion as to future performance of the clubs under consideration.
How have clubs planning new or redeveloped stadia been assessed?

New stadiums or redevelopments of existing stadiums have only been taken into account if the RFL Board was satisfied that the stadium will be open or the redevelopment finished by the start of the 2012 season.

When will the identity of the 13 other licence holders be announced?

RFL Chairmand Richard Lewis will announce the decision of the independent board at a media conference in Manchester on Tuesday July 26 at 11.00am.

When will the clubs find out?

The clubs will learn their fate on Tuesday July 26 at 11.00am when Richard Lewis reveals the board’s decision at the media conference. Immediately after the announcement, the RFL will contact each individual club with details of their grading and to set up a meeting at which they will receive detailed feedback on their licence application. The RFL will not make public summaries of all the applications until the feedback process with the clubs is completed.

Loads of good info, but no suggestion on how thew will actually award the points.
So the RFL will do exactly what they want and for ALL clubs the could be something which they could be marked down on.
Thet should give us all a break and return to Promotion/ Relegation with some added controlls.

Not exactly an independent board with Lewis & Wood on it

This


And This

Are at odds with each other!


The areas in red could be interpreted as being very weak for WTW


If AG has convinced the RFL that we will develop Belle Vue before the 2012 season gets underway, we might score well here

So, if we were to be graded C, we'd be assessed with relation to the follow

Our Academy and Player Development apparently was graded as A, but is certainly an area where we are very strong. The likes of Ferguson, Murphy, Davey, Wildie, Morton etc have all significantly developed whilst at WTW. Our academy won the league and playoffs within the recent franchise and whilst struggling in the league this season alot of english talent has been allowed to flourish.



Unfortunately this something that the majority can't meet. Only Quins can truely say they are in an area which isn't a traditional heartland (although that's debateable considering how long they've been based in London). Crusaders, if in Bridgend would also have qualified although forced to move, i'd suggest this isn't the area the RFL had strategically pinpointed.

You could also argue, the Wakefield district is one of the strongest area's for RL for participation, development and impact.



This is an area where you'd assume we'd be weak after the previous regime's downfall. Alot will rest on how AG & JE have addressed previous downfalls whilst stabilising the club and installing good practice and how the RFL view our's and crusaders situation.



Very vague, i'm not entirely sure what they're after with specifics. Maybe modern facilities (New stadiums?)



Our community department is considered to be one of if not the best in the competition (again rumoured to have been graded A), our marketing has dramatically improved with regional and national adverts as has our media presence. And commercially, whilst unpleasant the benidorm flats are highly profitable. And AG & JE with MH have taken it to another level.


I think we've a good chance of gaining another franchise. Our downfall will be the previous regime's downfall, although strangely enough it might also be our strength in that were under new guidance and making significant progress. I don't think we could do more considering our past. Unfortunately NM was called in otherwise we could have been a shoe in. Fingers crossed

The words Smoke and Screen spring to mind.

Does anyone know where these frequently asked questions came from? I just find it hard to believe that the most frequent question I ask myself about this round of franchising isn't among the list.

How could a licence be awarded to a Championship Club before all the current SL applications had been scrutinised? How could the RFL possibly know that Widnes's was a superior bid without looking at all of them together?

Quote: steadygetyerboots-on "Does anyone know where these frequently asked questions came from? I just find it hard to believe that the most frequent question I ask myself about this round of franchising isn't among the list. How could a licence be awarded to a Championship Club before all the current SL applications had been scrutinised? How could the RFL possibly know that Widnes's was a superior bid without looking at all of them together?'" www.loverugbyleague.com/news_597 ... -faqs.html

Quote: steadygetyerboots-on "Does anyone know where these frequently asked questions came from? I just find it hard to believe that the most frequent question I ask myself about this round of franchising isn't among the list. How could a licence be awarded to a Championship Club before all the current SL applications had been scrutinised? How could the RFL possibly know that Widnes's was a superior bid without looking at all of them together?'" www.loverugbyleague.com/news_597 ... -faqs.html

Bent & R soles springs to mind

I'd assume they're not actually FAQ more the RFL's justification for demoting a club

It was simple, because the second year in, or basically after Widnes had won the NRC they said that as long as a Championship team qualified for their criterea which is different to that of SL teams then at least one would be promoted. They had to have a £1mill turnover, minimum attendance of 2500, Stadium with operational capacity of 10,000 and have been in the GF or won the NRC in 2009 or 2010,
Both Halifax and widnes met the criterea. So straight away one up one down as a absolute minimum but by no means does this mean Halifax our out of it as the RFL have been watching us carefully and have been in attendance at the shay when Huddersfield borrowed our facilities for 3 games.

Why does Richard Lewis state it doesnt matter how teams are performing in the league when it says you are judged on performance and player strengths? Isn't our average finishes in Super League higher than our rivals? If they go on this year we are in trouble; but then again this is down to them as we havent been able to attract players due to their unproffessionalism by stating one sl team will definitaly be leaving.

Crusaders have the weakest bid. Halifax not stronger than us no way! Widnes for Crusaders end of decision made. Like Mr Elston says we have not got the weakest application !
[sizeWe are safe wooooooooooooooooooooo [/size

What you have to realise with Halifax as that until they get a crack at it then they wont be, Do you consider Widnes's bid as stronger than yours ?.

Fax Lost lots of fans that went to the Bulls when we came out of SL, Some of those would come back and the Fan base would double, Competitive, yes 3 finals in 3 years, Sponsorship = Yes, we got Probiz on board before any other club did, Profitable, = Yes turnover of over £1 million without and sky money or anything else. Stadium - Yes 10 year lease with a capacity of over 10,000, Youth Development, getting there, under 23's and becuase we are not in SL the Halifax youngsters are signing with the bulls, 5 signed with them last week.

The RFL will be fully aware of the potential, where as with SL clubs what you see is what you now get.

In another breath if Championship clubs do all that is asked, tick all the boxes etc and then still dont get in why do you think Wakey would be straight back in within 3 years when Halifax and Leigh have been waiting and fullfilling all the criterea ?.

How things have changed from a few years ago.
Taken from the RFL website
Whilst well maintained, the ground is limited and old fashioned. However, the club recognise this and has relatively advanced plans for a new stadium. Financial projections are based on the new ground, although there is evidence of a Plan B. The club is well managed financially with limited external borrowings and/or shareholder funds. The club has produced a holistic commercial plan, has a record of commercial achievement and achieves strong support even when relegated. The club’s reasonable playing infrastructure has been hurt by the yo-yo-ing between Super League and National League. The club has maintained youth pathways but has not always been able to secure the best local talent.

Crusaders RL
Whilst well maintained, the ground is limited and old fashioned but there is a commitment to immediately enhance the current facilities. In the medium term the club recognises the need to develop a new facility and appears to be working with the local public agencies to deliver this. As with any new venture, financial projections are more subjective but the club has demonstrated financial stability during its progress through the National Leagues. The club has built good relationships with commercial partners and TV channel S4C offers exciting opportunities. There is supportive independent market research for Super League in South Wales, although inevitably this can only be fully tested by the club’s actual participation in the competition. The playing infrastructure is very good in places but the club is understandably at the early stages with its scholarship and academy teams.

Harlequins RL
The Stoop provides good facilities across the board. The club relies on significant shareholder support and is seeking additional investment. Crowds have fluctuated and the club is looking to increase attendances on the back of stability in a good stadium. The recently appointed new management is tapping into a large catchment area and making the most of a robust community programme. The club has been reasonably successful in Super League and has a well resourced playing department. There are emerging local players but the club’s juniors are not yet regularly attracting national honours.

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Whilst well maintained, the ground is limited and old fashioned. However, the club recognise this and have plans for a new stadium. These are not as far advanced as might be the case despite projected occupation by 2010 and evidence of a Plan B would have been beneficial. There is good progress within community development and attendances are improving. Evidence of specific commercial measurable targets with the commercial strategy would have assisted. There has been a recent improvement on the pitch and increased investment in the playing department. Youth development works reasonably well and pre-16 players are attracting national honours but the club has not always been able to retain the best local talent.

Halifax RLFC
The club has previously made a good contribution to Super League but is significantly restrained by the incomplete nature of their stadium. This makes financial projections and marketing plans difficult to produce with any degree of certainty. Player development structures would require further investment before they could be considered of a Super League standard. However the club’s first team performances are consistently at the higher end of National League 1 over recent seasons.

Widnes Vikings
The stadium is an appropriate size and well appointed following significant investment in recent years. The club has been in the difficult position of seeking to take into account the club’s historical attendance and playing records but naturally distancing itself from the previous regime’s financial record. The current company has only been in existence for a few months following insolvency in October 2007. Early indications are that under new ownership the club has made very good progress so far and has attracted good sponsors and the support of the local authority. The club has maintained a reasonable playing infrastructure despite being in the National League but this would require further investment to ensure that they could be competitive in Super League particularly within Club Trained rules.