The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australian Rugby Football League Limited and succeeded the Australian Rugby Football League Board of Control which had been formed in 1924. Since its inception, the ARL has administered the
Australian national team and represented Australia in international rugby league matters. Prior to 1998, the code in Australia had been principally administered by individual state leagues on a domestic basis, and the ARL on a national and international basis.
Competitions
The ARL controls the
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
and
National Youth Competition as well as annual representative competitions such as the
State of Origin series
The State of Origin series is an annual best-of-three rugby league series between two Australian state representative sides, the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons.
Referred to as “Australian sport's greatest rivalry”, the ...
, the Indigenous
All Stars Match,
City vs Country Origin
City vs Country Origin was an annual Australian rugby league football match that took place in New South Wales between City and Country representative sides. The City side represented the Sydney metropolitan area. While technically it was Sydney ...
and the
Affiliated States Championship.
History
Rugby league started in Australia in the period 1907–08.
The Australian Rugby Football League Board of Control was formed by the
New South Wales Rugby League
The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...
(NSWRL) and
Queensland Rugby League (QRL) in December 1924 to administer the running of the
national team
A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport.
The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...
. George Ball was the first secretary of the Board and John La Maro the first chairman. Prior to this time, the international rugby league was organised jointly by the NSWRL and the QRL. It was only after this time that the Australian team began to wear the now-familiar sporting colours of Green and Gold. Since 1924, rugby league bodies in all other states and territories became affiliated to the Board of Control and ARL.
Until 1984 the ARFL Board of Control was effectively run by the NSWRL board, and many Queensland players and administrators throughout this period believed that the NSWRL used this power to the detriment of Queenslanders, especially with respect to national team selection. In 1986 the ARL was incorporated under the name Australian Rugby Football League Limited as a separate entity and
Ken Arthurson
Kenneth Richard "Arko" Arthurson AM (born 1 October 1929) is an Australian rugby league football identity. Affectionately known as "The Godfather of Manly", he played, coached and was later an administrator at the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles cl ...
was the first executive chairman of the new body.
With national expansion of the competition implemented for the
1995 season the NSWRL passed control of the
Winfield Cup
The Winfield Cup was an Australian rugby league trophy awarded to the winner of the New South Wales Rugby League premiership (NSWRL) Grand Final from 1982 to 1994, and then to the winner of the newly-founded Australian Rugby League (ARL) Grand Fin ...
competition to the ARL.
Following
Kerry Packer's announcement that his
Optus Vision
Optus Television is the cable television division of Australian telecommunications company Optus.
History
Its immediate predecessor was Optus Vision, a joint venture between Optus and Continental Cablevision, with small shareholdings by media ...
company owned both free-to-air and pay television broadcasting rights for the sport in Australia,
News Corporation
News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New ...
, controlled by
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
, undertook a bold bid to create a rival competition,
Super League (Australia)
Super League was an Australian rugby league football administrative body that conducted professional competition in Australia and New Zealand for one season in 1997. Along with Super League of Europe, it was created by News Corporation during ...
. Super League successfully attracted eight of the ARL clubs.
In the
1995 State of Origin series
The 1995 State of Origin series was the 14th annual three-game series between the Queensland and New South Wales representative rugby league teams. Due to the Australian Rugby League's ongoing conflicts with Super League, they ruled that no Supe ...
, the ARL forbade the players of those eight clubs from participating in the interstate competition. However, those clubs were allowed to participate in the premiership seasons of
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
and
1996, while the ARL fought in the courtroom to stop the Super League competition from eventuating. However,
Super League conducted a
rival competition in 1997.
Both the ARL and Super League competitions ran parallel to each other that year. At the close of the season, despite having the financial backing of
Optus
Singtel Optus Pty Limited (commonly referred to as Optus) is an Australian telecommunications company headquartered in Macquarie Park, New South Wales, Australia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singaporean telecommunications company Singte ...
, the ARL decided that it could not survive if two competitions were run and undertook moves to approach News Corporation and join the national competition that had been created by Super League. As a consequence of the negotiations that followed, the
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
was formed before the
1998 season from the ARL and Super League competitions.
From 1998 to 2012, the National Rugby League Partnership, a power-sharing arrangement between
News Corporation
News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New ...
and the
Australian Rugby League
The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australian Rugby Footbal ...
(ARL), ran the
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
competition as a consequence of the
Super League war
The Super League war was a commercial competition between the Australian Rugby League (ARL) and the Australian Super League to establish pre-eminence in professional rugby league competition in Australia and New Zealand in the mid-1990s.
Super ...
. Between the 1998 season and the first few months of the 2012 season the ARL had six out of twelve seats on the NRL Partnership board. In 2012 News Limited exited the partnership on condition that the ARL was restructured with an independent board.
The ARL was renamed as the Australian Rugby League Commission and restructured on 10 February 2012 and took control of the
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
competition.
ARL Premiership, 1995-97
From 1995 to 1997, the ARL directly administered the national club premiership competition. Although they only won one ARL premiership in 1996, the
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...
dominated the competition in its three years under the ARL name, winning each minor premiership (1995-1997), and appearing in all three Grand Finals.
ARL Development
ARL Development is a non-profit company that was formed by the ARL to develop the sport from an introductory level to the age of 18 years. In achieving this, ARL Development has developed new modified codes that gradually introduce children to rugby league. This is done by restricting the rules and then gradually releasing these restrictions.
The two introductory modified codes currently in use are ''mini footy'' and ''
mod league Mod league is a form of rugby league developed by the Australian Rugby League. It was developed to introduce children to rugby league.
Mod league follows on from mini football; it introduces laws more common to the full international laws of rug ...
''. On completion of mod league, players make a move to full international
rugby league laws.
Organisation structure
The ARL Commission is the peak governing body of rugby league football in Australia. It is headquartered in Sydney at Rugby League Central,
Moore Park, New South Wales
Moore Park is a small suburb located southeast of the Sydney central business district, in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of local government area of the City of Sydney.
Moore Park is als ...
.
All 16
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
clubs and the
New South Wales Rugby League
The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...
and the
Queensland Rugby League are members of the commission.
This means that the commission has 18 shareholder members in total.
Primary Objects
The primary objects of the ARL are to:
:(a) be the single controlling body and administrator of the Game;
:(b) foster, develop, extend and provide adequate funding for the Game from the junior to elite levels and generally to act in the best interests of the Game;
:(c) liaise with and delegate appropriate functions to governing bodies of the Game in the States and Territories of Australia, including the
NSWRL
The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...
and
QRL;
:(d) organise and conduct all State of Origin and Australian Representative Games;
:(e) organise, conduct and foster the NRL Competition;
:(g) liaise with the Rugby League International Federation Limited and organisations controlling the game in other countries in the fostering and control of the game of Rugby League throughout the world;
:(h) promote and encourage either directly or indirectly the physical, cultural and intellectual welfare of young people in the community and, in particular, the Rugby League community;
:(i) promote and encourage either directly or indirectly sport and recreation, particularly Rugby League football, in the interests of the social welfare of young persons.
Commissioners
The appointment of the original nine commissioners was intensely followed by the media. Placement firm Spencer Stuart shortlisted a list of potential members and the NRL Partnership whittled it down to the current members. Commissioners were required to not have had any link to any rugby league football governing body or organisation for the previous 2 years to ensure their independence.
The inaugural ARL Commissioners were agreed by representatives of the NRL Partnership, the Leagues and the NRL clubs. Future Commissioners are appointed by the Commission itself.
Election of Commissioners
The Commissioners are appointed into different groups and, initially, for differing terms. Each Commissioner must, at a nominated time, resign and seek re-election at an Annual General Meeting.
Commissioners in Group A must stand down before the 2013 Annual General Meeting, where they may re-apply for their position. Group B members must stand down before the 2014 AGM and Group C members must stand down before the 2015 meeting.
Ten members may, with the additional support of both the NSW and Queensland Rugby Leagues, vote to remove a Commissioner.
Fourteen members are required to remove a Commissioner without the support of both the NSW and Queensland Rugby Leagues. Should either of these events occur, the remaining Commissioners would appoint a replacement.
A Commissioner who has been removed from office may not seek re-appointment for a period of three years.
Peter Beattie Commissioner A
Former commissioners
David Gallop
David Gallop is an Australian sports administrator, lawyer and served as the chief executive of the Football Federation Australia until December 2019. He previously served as the chief executive officer of the National Rugby League between Febr ...
was the initial chief executive officer of the restructured ARL Commission. He was previously the CEO of the NRL and his contract extension to become inaugural ARL CEO was a condition placed by News Limited with the ARL. On 5 June 2012 the ARL announced Gallop's departure from the CEO position and he will take a position at the
FFA in 2013.
David Smith was announced as the new ARL CEO in November 2012, taking charge on 1 February 2013.
Gary Pemberton
Gary Milton Pemberton (born 1940) is an Australian business executive.
Pemberton is best known for being the former chairman of Brambles, Qantas (1993-2000), TAB, Racing NSW and Billabong.
He was president of the Sydney Organising Committee ...
, a former chairman of
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founde ...
,
Billabong
Billabong ( ) is an Australian term for an oxbow lake, an isolated pond left behind after a river changes course. Billabongs are usually formed when the path of a creek or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end. As a result ...
and
Racing NSW
In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...
, and one of the seven commissioners appointed to the newly restructured ARL in February 2012, announced in July 2013 that he would retire from his role on 31 October.
References
External links
*
The ARL constitutionARL One CommunityAustralian Rugby League official website
{{Authority control
National Rugby League
NRL Women's Premiership
1924 establishments in Australia
Sports organizations established in 1924
1986 establishments in Australia
Sports organizations established in 1986