Come this time next weekend an Australian rugby league legend, some of his countrymen and thousands of Londoners will gather at AFC Wimbledon’s Plough Lane as a renewed London Broncos take to the field in the Championship.
One of only two English clubs in the top two tiers of rugby league south of Warrington, London Broncos’ story nearly ended abruptly last year when the side hit financial difficulties.
But a bid spearheaded by former Brisbane Broncos stalwart Darren Lockyer, and backed by a number of fellow Australians such as mining magnate Grant Wechsel, now means we will see the London Broncos play their first match under new ownership against Windes Vikings next Sunday.
And the resurrection of the Broncos in south west London, having been put up for sale by former owner David Hughes in 2024, is good for the sport as a whole.
Rugby league struggles for sustained financial income, with a television deal that is much smaller than pre-Covid levels. But the last 12 months has been an example of a sport looking to be ambitious against the odds.
London Broncos are back
The English top flight Super League has forged a tight relationship with the Australian NRL, the southern hemisphere’s equivalent.
Down Under the top flight is expanding – with the additions of the Perth Bears and a franchise from Papua New Guinea – while there’s hope in England that the second tier Championship, where the Broncos are, will see a competitive promotion race.
The first rugby league Ashes in 20 years saw record attendances for a series hosted in England, including over 60,000 at Wembley Stadium for the opener. And it feels like rugby league is spoken about, written about and heard about a lot more now than in recent years.
And London being part of that discussion is key to the development of the game globally; while rugby league’s northern heartlands remain paramount to the broad appeal of the sport, the reality is that London can be a driving force for league to those watching on from overseas.
For that reason the success of the London Broncos is crucial to the future success of rugby league below the southern most point of the M6 corridor.
Tickets remain available for the first game in a new era for rugby league in London, and it’s for the good of every Londoner that the latest iteration of the Broncos is a triumphant one.