A NEW rugby league club being set up to bring the 13-a-side code back to Tameside has been given a four-figure cash boost, courtesy of the World Cup.
Tameside Knights, who will be based at Ashton Rugby Union Club, are being formed as part of efforts to bring the game to new communities.
And as part of the CreatedBy RLWC2021 programme, it has been handed a grant of £2,700 to go towards kit and equipment.
Described as, ‘to establish a new club which will create opportunities for adults and young people to play rugby league for the first time,’ it is a big boost to the Knights.
Formed just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the UK, an original scheme for an open age side to play in the North West Men’s League Merit Division this year with a view to joining the competition’s pyramid in 2021 has been put back.
But getting the next generation with a ball in their hands that is the main reason behind the new side.
CreatedBy has seen grants given to clubs up and down the country ahead of the World Cup’s start on October 23.
Tournament chief executive Jon Dutton said: “Our CreatedBy grants programme amounts to an unprecedented level of investment in the game, with every £1 invested matched by additional funding.
“Rugby league’s places are becoming even more welcoming and even more inclusive. More people than ever will be experiencing rugby league and the social impact will be genuinely transformative.”
Tameside Knights is the brainchild of Matt Valentine of Manchester Rangers, who told why it had been decided to establish a club.
He explained: “At Manchester Rangers, we had a number of players from the Tameside area who would travel to play for us and as part of that project, we decided to set something up in the borough.
“Now the Tameside Knights have in place coaches and players ready to go.”
Bob Marsden, who once played for Salford, will be the men’s coach at the Knights while staff will head into local primary schools to offer courses, clinics and sessions aimed at getting children interested in rugby league.
At the beginning, the club will operate a ‘minis’ section for children aged between seven and nine-years-old with new teams being introduced as members get older.
“It means we’re not as reliant on big numbers,” Matt added. “At that age, you only need seven or eight players and you have enough for a team.
“Even though we’re in the early stages, the interest in Tameside Knights has been great and we’ve even had some of the rugby union clubs in the area talk about getting involved as it will be rugby union in winter and rugby league in summer.
“In Tameside, there are plenty of people who love rugby league or have an interest in the sport but there’s no ‘exit’ for them – nowhere they can take that interest further.
“It’s the same story across a lot of the Greater Manchester area. That’s where we hope teams like Tameside Knights can come in.”