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===Club officials===
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{{fb cs staff |bg=y |p=Toronto Wolfpack Owner |s={{flagicon|AUS}} David Argyle }}
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{{fb cs staff |bg= |p=CEO |s={{flagicon|CAN}} Eric Perez}}
{{fb cs staff |bg= |p=CEO |s={{flagicon|CAN}} Eric Perez}}
{{fb cs staff |bg=y |p=Director of Rugby |s={{flagicon|ENG}} [[Brian Noble (rugby league)|Brian Noble]] }}
{{fb cs staff |bg=y |p=Director of Rugby |s={{flagicon|ENG}} [[Brian Noble (rugby league)|Brian Noble]] }}

Revision as of 09:32, 8 June 2016

Toronto Wolfpack
File:Toronto Wolfpack RLFC logo.jpg
Club information
Full nameToronto Wolfpack Rugby League Football Club
Nickname(s)The Wolfpack
Short nameToronto
Colours
Founded2016; 8 years ago (2016)
Websitetorontowolfpack.com
Current details
Ground(s)
CEOEric Perez
CoachPaul Rowley
CompetitionLeague 1

Toronto Wolfpack RLFC are a Canadian professional rugby league club based in Toronto which will begin play in the 2017 League 1 season.[1]

History

The Rugby Football League first received an application from a Canadian consortium based in Toronto, led by the Chairman of the national governing body Canada Rugby League Eric Perez, in 2014 to compete in the United Kingdom's third tier of professional rugby league.[2] Perez was denied permission to join the first-tier Super League directly, and will instead attempt to build the club up to the point where it can be promoted.[3][4] A press conference was held on 27 April 2016 at which details on the franchise, which will begin play in 2017, were revealed.[5][6] The team will be the first professional rugby league team to be based in Canada.[6] A group of 10 businessmen, including Canadians and Australians, own the club.[7]

It was suggested that it was an attractive market due to Canada having the largest following of rugby league outside of Australia, France, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.[8][9] The club plans to play in blocks of four home matches, four away matches, and cover all expenses of visiting teams throughout the season.[10][11] All away games are expected to be broadcast locally according to Perez.[4]

Stadium

Lamport Stadium based in the Liberty Village neighborhood of Toronto.

The team's planned home stadium is Lamport Stadium in Toronto,[6] which seats 9,600. The stadium was opened in 1975 and has an artificial field. In addition to rugby, it has also hosted soccer and lacrosse. The stadium attracts average crowds of around 7,000 for international rugby league fixtures.[2] The team signed a three year lease.[12]

Squad

The team will be made up of full-time professional players,[13][4] and is expected to sign players from the Championship and League 1 initially, but a long term objective is to recruit from the Canadian domestic competition.[14][15] Former Great Britain player and coach Brian Noble will be the club's director of rugby and former England and Leigh Centurions player and coach Paul Rowley will be the inaugural coach of the team.[3]

Staff

First Team coaching staff

Position Staff
Head Coach England Paul Rowley
Assistant Coach Republic of Ireland Simon Finnigan
Assistant Coach TBD
Head of Athletic Performance TBD
Head of Analysis TBD
First Team Performance Analyst TBD
Head Physio TBD
Assistant Physio TBD
Club Masseur TBD
Kit Man TBD

Club officials

Toronto Wolfpack Owner Australia David Argyle
CEO Canada Eric Perez
Director of Rugby England Brian Noble
TBA England Adam Fogerty
Commercial Director
Finance Director
Legal Director
Non-Executive Director

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/apr/27/toronto-wolfpack-rugby-league-one-2017-brian-noble
  2. ^ a b http://www.totalrl.com/toronto-rugby-league-canada-league-one-england/
  3. ^ a b "Canadian team to join English rugby league setup". ESPN. 2016-04-24. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
  4. ^ a b c Proszenko, Adrian (2016-04-21). "Canadian team to play in UK next year as part of Super League bid". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
  5. ^ "TORONTO ANNOUNCED AS HOME TO WORLD'S FIRST TRANSATLANTIC PROFESSIONAL SPORTS TEAM". Toronto Wolfpack. 2016-04-27. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  6. ^ a b c "Rugby Football League officials joined by Mayor John Tory to unveil team brand and league information". 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  7. ^ "New Toronto Wolfpack rugby league team won't divulge its ownership". Winnipeg Free Press. 2016-04-28. Retrieved 2016-04-30.
  8. ^ http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/may/07/toronto-rugby-league-team-talks-join-england-league-1-canada
  9. ^ http://www.totalrl.com/canadians-confident-competitive-league-one/
  10. ^ Bower, Aaron (2016-04-27). "Toronto Wolfpack to enter League One next season, RFL announces". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  11. ^ http://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/news/12196/9838724/barrie-mcdermott-canadian-team-would-boost-league-one
  12. ^ Yuen, Jenny (2016-04-27). "Toronto to be first transatlantic team in Rugby Football League". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  13. ^ Davidson, Neil (2016-04-27). "Toronto Wolfpack to join third tier of English rugby league in 2017". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  14. ^ http://www.thestar.com/sports/2015/10/03/local-group-looks-to-bring-rugby-league-to-toronto.html
  15. ^ http://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/news/12196/10256500/toronto-given-go-ahead-to-enter-club-in-english-rugby-league