Ex-Man Utd executive Ian Nolan to lead Rugby Football League
The Rugby Football League has hired a former Manchester United executive as chief executive to reverse its financial decline and expand its media footprint.
Ian Nolan will become the Rugby Football League's chief executive on October 1. He succeeds Tony Sutton, who stood down in September. Rhodri Jones, the managing director of RL Commercial, has held the role on an interim basis following Abi Ekoku and will remain in place until the handover.
Nolan, 44, brings a background in sports media and marketing rather than traditional rugby administration. He spent seven years at Manchester United as a senior executive leading the club's global media network. He subsequently joined Science in Sport as chief marketing officer.
The appointment directly targets the sport's recent financial difficulties. RFL chair Nigel Wood stated the governing body aims to put revenues "back onto an upward trajectory" after the past few years. Wood described the hire as a crucial step in a "bold and ambitious new strategy" to "turn around the sport's fortunes."
Central to this strategy is a focus on digital expansion and international commercialisation. Wood noted that Nolan's experience in leveraging digital, social and modern media platforms is expected to accelerate growth into global markets. The RFL chair framed the current period as a "pivotal time" for the sport's business operations.
The commercial push coincides with an expanded broadcasting arrangement for the 2026 Super League season. Sky Sports will broadcast every match live. Two games per round will be shown exclusively on Sky's main channels, with the remaining five matches available on the Sky Sports+ platform.
Wood pointed to the recent Magic Weekend, attended by more than 80,000 people, as evidence of the sport's appeal. Nolan's task will be to apply his global media experience to this domestic foundation to secure the league's financial future.
