Tindall backs new rugby breakaway league
Mike Tindall has been revealed as one of the driving forces behind a new breakaway global rugby league.
The competition has been branded as R360 and aims to drive generational change in the sport.
Telegraph Sport has revealed the full details of the blueprint for the first time. The architects behind R360 have been listed as Tindall, former Bath director of rugby Stuart Hooper, and the lawyer behind the creation of the Indian Premier League and LIV Golf, John Loffhagen. Mark Spoors, a former leading rugby agent, has also been named as a co-founder.
R360 has proposed a “grand prix” model featuring 12 franchises, initially eight for men and four for women, visiting 16 venues globally, including Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Nou Camp, and Sao Paulo.
The competition has planned April to June and August to September windows, promising to make players available for international fixtures, aiming to turn rugby into a summer sport.
The league has attempted to recruit “the best of the best”, targeting the top 300 male and female players. It has been understood that dozens of players have already signed heads of agreement, contingent on R360 securing sufficient funds to launch by September next year. R360 has claimed to have already attracted multiple bids for franchises from team owners in other sports, including the NFL and Formula One, and from individuals across four continents.
The project had already attracted significant financial investment from several parties in the US and the UK.
A key part of R360’s vision has been to launch female teams offering competitive salaries, with American social media personality Ilona Maher featuring heavily in promotional material.
Mike Tindall, co-founder and sporting director, R360, writes, “Rugby is feeling the fallout of the last few years with financial mismanagement, declining investment in the club game and a product that is struggling to evolve. Clubs around the world are feeling the strain and are being propped up by the international game.
“Rugby’s lack of innovation and ability to change risks losing its appeal to new audiences and its younger market.”
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