Colleges set to benefit from Rugby League World Cup legacy

Young leaders from 15 colleges will have a unique opportunity to promote rugby league in their college and community thanks to a new grant from the CreatedBy RLWC2021 Capital Grants Programme.

With the Rugby League World Cup being hosted in England this autumn, it is hoped a legacy will be felt across the country through the 15 colleges chosen as part of the Rugby League World Cup Legacy TAG Leaders programme.

From September up to 180 young leaders will be trained to be TAG Leaders, who will then deliver TAG rugby activity to their peers and introduce rugby league to over 1000 new participants.

The successful colleges who will be involved in the programme are:

• Barnsley College
• Doncaster College
• Eccles Sixth Form College
• Gateshead College
• Havant and South Downs College
• Milton Keynes College
• Moulton College
• Notre Dame Sixth Form College
• Peterborough College
• Preston’s College
• Stoke on Trent College
• The Sheffield College
• Thomas Rotherham College
• Wakefield College

As part of the programme, colleges will be linked with local wider provision to sustain their young leaders’ and participants’ involvement in the game and a TAG festival will be arranged later in the academic year as a celebration of the project.

AoC Sport was given £3,607.20 from the CreatedBy RLWC2021 Capital Grants Programme – a funding pot of £10million delivered in partnership between RLWC2021, the sport’s national governing body, the Rugby Football League, Sport England and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport – to encourage more people to participate in the sport.

Dean Hardman, Director of Sport and Student Experience at The Association of Colleges, said: “The funding by the CreatedBy programme will ensure that college students inspired by the 2021 Rugby League World Cup can access the game through playing or volunteering. The equipment this grant will fund will ensure the leadership programme put in place will make a huge difference to the beneficiaries. Thanks to the RFL for their support and we look forward to seeing more rugby league played in colleges as a result.”

Adam Hughes, Development Lead - Education of the Rugby Football League said: “We are really excited to be working with AoC Sport to encourage more people from a range of different backgrounds to engage with Rugby League, harnessing the legacy of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup through the TAG leaders programme.”

The Rugby League World Cup 2021 will kick off across multiple sites in England on 23 October 2021, with the men’s, women’s and wheelchair competitions taking place simultaneously, under one tournament banner for the first time. For more information about the tournament click here.