Gary Hetherington confirmed Headingley as World Club Challenge Venue - Rugby
Leeds chief executive, Gary Hetherington, confirmed on Wednesday, November 23, at a press conference that Headingley is the venue for the 2012 World Club Challenge but there is a possibility that next year’s campaign will be staged in some other country.
England will host the final showdown of the series for the 12th consecutive year since 2000. This was against expectations because the rumour was that other options were already in consideration. However, with limited time the organisers had to stick with
what was quickest.
It was also shared by the CEO of Leeds that a lot of work needs to be done ahead of the opening of the series. However, he also said that if the World Club Challenge was in Dubai or the Emirates, the work would have already begun as they did not have to
wait that long for Four Nations to wrap up.
While expressing his views about the possible shift in the World Club venue, Hetherington said, "Whilst there has been talk about that for the last eight or nine years, it's never really got far. But just recently there does seem to be an appetite, particularly
from the Australian clubs, to start to explore that possibility. I think the fact that we were prepared to play the game in Australia probably took the Australians by surprise and it made the NRL think seriously about staging it. It turned out to be too short
a time scale for 2012 but I think for the future it's very much on the agenda now.”
There were a number of options which were proposed by many quarters, Super League champions, Leeds, also admitted that they were fully prepared to travel to Australia. Meanwhile, National Rugby League (NRL) Grand Final winners Manly Sea Eagles also suggested
a Middle Eastern venue.
Hetherington further added that February 17 will be the last clash in England. This is because England and Wales are co-hosting the Rugby League World Cup in 2013, which will require a lot of time for preparation.
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