RFL shortlisted for the Sport Governing Body of the Year

Correspondent

The RFL has been officially shortlisted for the prestigious 2013 Sport Governing Body of the Year Award, part of the Sports Industry Group’s Annual Awards ceremony sponsored by the Daily Telegraph.

It is the third successive year that Rugby League’s Governing Body has been shortlisted for the award, which recognises standout performances from the UK’s leading governing bodies across four key pillars of governance, comprising Performance, Leadership, Community and Ethics.

Following one of the most exciting years in the history of British sport, The RFL have been shortlisted alongside British Cycling, British Olympic Association, UK Athletics, British Horseracing and England Hockey with the winning organisation to be announced at the star-studded Sport Industry Awards ceremony on Thursday May 2.

“It is an outstanding achievement to be shortlisted for this prestigious award for a third consecutive year and  recognises the hard work from everyone involved with the organisation and the wider sport in making major changes like the successful switch of the playing calendar and ground breaking initiatives like the ‘Tackle It’ campaign. Achievements like winning the Stonewall Sports Award for 2012 have demonstrated that we have continued to reinforce our position as a forward-thinking and progressive governing body. ,” said RFL Chief Executive Nigel Wood.

“This news is a welcome boost at the start of the biggest year for Rugby League in two decades, with Rugby League World Cup 2013 in England and Wales this autumn. The Rugby League World Cup will be the next home international sporting event after London 2012 and, with the new season underway, there is a real sense of excitement about the year ahead, brilliantly captured by the iconic promotional film featuring Tour de France Winner and multiple Olympic Gold Medallist, Sir Bradley Wiggins, in which the most popular sportsperson in the country declares that “ deep down I would love to be a Rugby League player’.”

Nick Keller, Chairman of the Sport Industry Group, commented: “ Being named on the Official Shortlist for the Sport Industry Awards is definitive proof that a team, brand or organisation’s work has been amongst the very best in its field across an entire year.”

The six organisations shortlisted for the Sport Governing Body of the Year Award, sponsored by the Daily Telegraph are:

Rugby Football League
British Cycling
British Horseracing Authority
BOA
England Hockey
UKA

The six governing bodies join the other brands, campaigns and organisations that have been shortlisted after a rigorous steering process involving more than 45 key figures from across the industry and 50 hours of intensive judging fully overseen by Deloitte, the Official Independent Scrutineer of the Sport Industry Awards, to ensure absolute transparency and impartiality, the list of nominees represents the best the industry had to offer in 2012.

With entries up by more than 30% year-on-year, reaching the shortlist in 2013 represents a stellar achievement. The results will be announced at the Sport Industry Awards ceremony on Thursday May 2, 2012.