Harrison: Championship should be part-time

Batley CEO Paul Harrison believes the Championship should be a semi-professional competition as there is not enough money in the game to go round.

2016 has been a tough year for the Championship with a number of clubs in financial difficulty, including Bradford, Halifax and Sheffield.

Harrison believes Super League should be the only full-time division in UK rugby league.

“I’m not one to criticise other clubs, they’ve all got different ways to run their clubs but it’s very simple you can only spend the money that you’ve got and if you haven’t got it don’t promise it to players and expect the fans and people to bail you out really,” he told Love Rugby League.

“It’s hard there’s a lot of competition to sign these players. I believe that the Championship‘s a part-time game.

“I just don’t think there’s enough financial support or backing to go full time.

“As we’ve proved at Batley we’re a part-time club and so are Featherstone and we got in front of Sheffield and Bradford who thought it was a good option to go full time and it backfired on them massively.

“Sheffield were a prime example, that’s my view on them and we’ll definitely stay part-time.

“I allways think the Super League is a full-time environment, the rest of it I just think you can’t sustain it.”

Harrison has been Batley’s chief executive for many years with the plan for sustainable growth.

With the additional RFL funding it received for its top four finish the Bulldogs are improving their stadium and club gym.

“That’s our business model at Batley, even whatever happened last season we’d be able to afford the wages and it’s just good,” Harrison said.

“The bit of extra money we’ve got we’ve not wasted on players, we’ve done a lot of work on the ground to make the club more sustainable and more friendly for it.

“It’s something, I’m not saying it’s the best business model in the world, but it’s one that keeps our heads above water.”