London Broncos set for name change as five-year plan unveiled by Gary Hetherington

Gary Hetherington has unveiled a ‘five-year plan’ to revolutionise rugby league in London, with London Broncos at the heart of it.

Hetherington has left Leeds Rhinos to become the central figure in a revitalised and revamped plan for the future for the capital-based club, who have been embroiled in financial difficulties over the off-season after David Hughes opted to sell the Broncos.

But Hetherington will build a new ownership group, will launch a new brand for 2026 and restore the club’s successful academy structure – as well as committing to a long-term future at AFC Wimbledon’s home, Plough Lane.

“Rugby league is at a significant moment both nationally and globally, and London needs to be a part of that,” Hetherington said.

“Stephen Smith, Australia’s High-Commissioner to the United Kingdom, and his team recognise the importance of rugby league in terms of our links to Australia and the wider South Pacific – and in a year when we will see the return of the Ashes for the first time since 2003, with the first Test at Wembley on October 25, this is the perfect time to consider how best to maximise that potential.

“The sport may have been born in the North, but its links to London stretch back more than a century – even before the decision to take the Challenge Cup Final to Wembley in 1929.

“This year, Wembley will stage two major Rugby League occasions – Betfred Challenge Cup Finals Day on June 7, followed by the first Ashes Test in 22 years.

“That’s a timely reminder of the importance of the health of the sport in London and the South as we continue to stage our major occasions in front of a national audience.

“One of the purposes of holding the launch event was to illustrate that London has continued to deliver for Rugby League, even with the Broncos club out of the Super League.

“There are products of the London Academy scattered around other clubs, from Mike McMeeken at Wakefield Trinity to Kai Pearce-Paul at the Newcastle Knights in Australia.”

Love Rugby League understands that funds will almost immediately become available for London to go into the transfer market and make moves to pull away from the foot of the Championship table, too.

They have so far won just two games in 2025 and are only off the bottom of the table due to the form of Hunslet, who have a solitary win.

London have operated with a reduced squad while they have waited for the takeover to be approved but they will now accelerate their plans to bolster Mike Eccles’ troops in the coming weeks.

Love Rugby League has learned that at least two players from the French Super XIII are bound for the capital in the coming weeks, with more set to follow over the summer.