What Options Are Available To PNG If The 18th Team NRL Bid Is Unsuccessful?

I get a sense from reading this article that PNG's chances to be the 18th NRL franchise is low. But before I get to answer this question posed lets appreciate too that rugby league as a sport and its proponents want to grow rugby league in popularity. It is safe to assume that like all modern day sports, rugby league and its organisational bodies and affiliates would have a global ambition.

Everything that is done in organisations will exist under one of the PESTEL (political economical social technological environmental legal) categories. Rugby League as a sport comes under the 'social' context. Like all modern day sports, rugby league has a parent organisation and affiliate bodies to coordinate its growth ambitions locally, nationally and internationally. The growth of an organisation (or a sport in this instance) in the business sense is a measure of success. In the PESTEL environment, the activities of rugby league involves costs to successfully manage its operations. As it aims to be a professional sport, it cannot rely on donations to fund its operations so it must operate as a business. As a business organisation, rugby league will aspire for growth and to propagate its aims and ambitions.

When sporting organisations exist as a business, they will no doubt have a growth strategy. Strategy is the long term direction of an organisation. Students of strategic management will recognised the two (in fact three) key terms in the preceding sentence of this paragraph: 1. Long Term, 2. Direction and 3. Organisation. In long term there are three time horizons: Horizon 1 – extend and defend core business; Horizon 2 – build emerging businesses and; Horizon 3 – create viable options. The NRL Expansion Strategy is a good case study to see the 'The Three Horizons Strategy' in application. For NRL, the direction is of course Profits and Growing the Game. For avid NRL followers who are interested in strategic management, this should be a passionate case study to learn strategy.

The strategy to grow the sport of rugby league by the different affiliated bodies will vary according to the varients of the PESTEL environments in which rugby league is played in locally. These differences must be shared with the world body governing and administrating the sport of rugby league.

PNG where rugby league is the 'national sport' and as an affiliate to a world body must have aims to promote this sport by bringing our difference to the world body of rugby league so it may learn a thing or two from our experience. If PNG loses out as the 18th NRL team, then these are the options that I have that we should consider.

1. Shift Our Aim To Create A Domestic Competition To Rival The Australian NRL

We have always been trying to live up to the NRL standards and always emerge second rated. A true test of our standard of rugby league competition (and live-ability in PNG on both the economic and social front) will be when we started attracting rugby league talents around the world who would want to come and play in the PNG Rugby League Competition. That should be the new vision of rugby league in PNG - to better the game in PNG that will benefit the masses. When we reached that state that means rugby league has truly turned professional in PNG and all our unemployed youths can be meaningfully engaged directly in playing rugby league or other spin off business activities that revolve around this 'religious movement' called Rugby League.

2. Treat The Sport Of Rugby League As A 'Movement'

In order to give prominence to this sport, we (as those in a position of power in GoPNG) have to change our view of Rugby League as a sport and to treat it as a 'movement'. Only then we can seriously invest in it on home soil (or invite China to fund this 'movement' in PNG. I hope Chinese agents are taking notes and putting this offer to GoPNG soon)!

In the words of perhaps the greatest Melanesian philosper of our time, the late Bernard Narokobi and I quote "Everywhere in Melanesia, the people are yearning for the good life the Utopia. Spontaneous movements have emerged and will continue to emerge. These movements are called prophetic, synchrotistic, political, religious, economic or civic, depending on the name caller. Still every one of these movements is searching for the ideal way, in terms of human association. These movements are seeking to know who we are in our new human situation."

These movements happen in the PESTEL (political economical social technological environmental and legal) environment. The sport of Rugby League and its growth aspirations exists in the 'social' context of PESTEL and can be leverage off as a force for propagating positive influence to achieve a 'good life.'

Those in GoPNG especially in the Sport Ministry need to come to this understanding and change our perspective of this sport of Rugby League not just as a sport but as a 'business' and movement.

3. Approach China To Fund The Rugby League Movement In PNG

PNG should make the move to get the communist Chinese government to fund a rugby league competition in PNG to rival the NRL in Australia. As a geopolitical move this will be a big win for the Chinese influence into the region...then wait and see how things will fast track in getting a PNG team into that precious 'hard to enter' Australian NRL.