October 2021
Featured in this insight: Sports & physical activity
87% of rugby league fans say they have not been consulted about significant changes to the club they support: A survey of rugby league fans has revealed that almost nine in ten have not been consulted about a significant change to the name, brand or badge of the club they support. The vast majority (93%) also said that they believe fans should be formally consulted by The RFL or Super League on major issues in the game that will have an impact on them directly.
The survey was conducted by Think Fan Engagement in June and July 2021 and polled more than 1,000 fans of English and Welsh clubs in Super League, Championship and League One. It sought to find out how fans feel about how clubs and governing bodies engage with their fans and consult on a range of issues including changing the name of clubs and other issues around rebranding.
The research revealed that nearly three-quarters of fans polled (72%) do not agree that their club takes their views into account on issues such as ticketing, changes to badges or other rebranding, or ticketing.
Nearly nine out of ten fans (88.5%) believe that on any big decisions or changes to a name, badge or brand of their rugby league club, fans should always be given the final say, while 81.1% believe that supporters should be consulted on any changes to the name, badge or branding to the club.
Six out of ten supporters polled in the survey (60%) said they think fans should be consulted formally about ticket prices or plans to relocate fans within the stadium, while nearly three-quarters (73.6%) believe fans should be consulted before a club agrees to relocate its stadium.
Kevin Rye, Founder and Director of Think Fan Engagement, said: “In the year of the Rugby League World Cup, I think it’s a good moment to start trying to understand more about the views of those fans – particularly on issues like rebranding and identity changes to clubs, and how much they feel listened to."
