New York Rugby League: Organisers hope new club can draw 'expat' support
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Red Bull Arena is likely to host New York's proposed NRL friendlies
New York Rugby League can tap into the 'expat' market of British and Australian fans living in the city, says bid lead organiser Ricky Wilby.
The new club will enter the Challenge Cup in 2021, and are slated to follow Toronto and Ottawa into the British league structure the following year.
Plans are being made, meanwhile, to play friendlies against National Rugby League clubs next year.
"We think there's a massive opportunity there in the States," said Wilby.
He told 大象传媒 Sport: "There's a big fan base we can work on, a big expat market we can target and we've got a community programme we want to roll out.
"We've got some real big partners that have been plastered around the room today, it's been really positive."
As with any new project, concerns surrounding finance have been voiced by the rugby league community, but the New York club are confident their funding is robust.
They have secured sponsors they say will remain interested despite the delay in entering the league.
"We have two investors, one a US national, and the other was born in the UK and grew up a RL fan but now lives in New York," Wilby said.
"Both have had due diligence completed by the Rugby Football League and that's where the money is coming from."
'Sprinkle of Australians' - where will New York's talent come from?
Like Toronto, both Ottawa and New York have the challenge of recruiting a team from scratch, from a talent pool which exists in just a few countries.
The Wolfpack initially managed to attract high-profile signings such as Josh McCrone and Fuifui Moi Moi from the southern hemisphere.
No names have been mentioned by the New York staff, but there is an ambition going forward to utilise the prowess of non-league athletes.
They hope to have a coach in place "around April or May", and from that point on player recruitment will gather speed towards 2021.
"The idea is we build up a player base from the UK, France and the US, and sprinkle it with a couple of players from Australia," Wilby added.
"We want to build bridges with the US players, we need to look seriously at growing the game in the states, we have a responsibility and that starts by including US players in the squad.
"There are genuine athletes out there, we can target and fit into our model and supplement that with experienced RL players.
"We're not saying we're going to create the next US half-back, but there are people who come through collegiate systems that don't make the National Football League or Canadian Football League are a possibility."