Liverpool Rugby League team to launch before Magic Weekend

Luke Backhouse, one of the men behind the Liverpool Rugby League franchise, has revealed that they plan to launch the team next month before Magic Weekend.

The property specialist has come together with former Salford owner Marwan Koukash and businessman Andrew Mikhail in a bid to give the sport a major presence in the city.

Backhouse, who was previously on the board at Widnes Vikings, says the three entrepreneurs have sufficient financial backing and knowledge of the game to be successful.

Despite the cities almost unrivalled passion for football, the trio are trying to encourage the amateur game in Liverpool and also introduce rugby league into schools.

Speaking to Insider Media, Backhouse said: “We’re getting help from the council and in terms of getting sponsors and investors, we haven’t had to go looking. They’re excited about how big it could become.

“We hope to launch in 2021 and hopefully we can work our way to the Super league by 2022 or 2023.

“The RFL are expanding at the moment. I know there’re propositions for teams in Los Angeles and New York, and the Toronto Wolfpack team are already established.

“It’s expanding on a huge international scale and it could be one of the few sports where we could have a fixture of Liverpool v New York City. It’s got huge marketability.

“It feels like rugby league in general is a very untapped sport that’s ready to really take off. If you look at what Eddie and Barry Hearn have done with boxing and darts, they’ve made it huge again. Rugby league has that potential; it just needs that excitement about it.

“It’s always been marketed as a small town sport and the working man’s game but it needs to be expanded.”

Plans as to where their home matches will be played are yet to be announced but Koukash revealed in an interview last month that they were targeting the Sefton area of the city.

Next month’s Magic Weekend will be held at Anfield and the Liverpool RLFC team will be launched to the media the day before the event.