Dubai isn't a tourist destination? They'll be upset all the billions spent on tourist attractions aren't to your liking lol.

Most of the tourist are from that region.



You are from Australia JB, do you know any Aussies that go there and if so what do they go there for?

When Liverpool or Man U go to Australia they play one or two exhibition games that can drag enough english expats and football fans to the game to get a big crowd.

Where is that money coming from for a nines in Dubai Locky?

The Auckland Nines has a large cash prize guaranteed for several years and its one of the NRL's promotional vehicles into Union dominated New Zealand, I thought that was obvious.



In a Sport that stretches for so long through the season that you have a WCC challenge shoehorned into any week they can find, usually before the Australian season has commenced you think a second Nines Comp should be supported halfway around the world? 7 hours from Manchester, over 14 hours from Sydney and 19 hours from Auckland.



The NRL didn't need the SL Clubs involved to get the Auckland Nines going.

Maybe it should be a Euro Nines held in France to help build the game in the largely neglected neighbour over the channel?

a 9's comp in france would be a pretty good idea.



I think a club 9s comp at the beginning of the year in the country holding the WCC and at the end in whichever country is holding the international tournament would be great. Much more accessible for some of the developing nations than full contact and i think it would be a lot more unpredictable.

OMG!! i thought your argument about Pritchard not being a second row was bad but this takes the biscuit!



You really shouldn't make comments about people or places if you don't know about them.



There is literally thousands of Aussies that live in the UAE and same again for New Zealanders, never mind the ones that vista here.



Why do people go to Dubai? why do People go to Singapore? or any other tourist destination.



1. the skyline in Dubai is one of the best in the world

2. Largest shopping mall in the world

3 Tallest building in the world

4. there is a stupid amount of luxurious restaurants, shops, hotels and spa's

5. There is a desert

6. Its the most safest place to vista in the middle east

7. your guaranteed a hot climate

8. People actually travel to go and watch Dubai sevens

9. A lot of people have family and friends here, considering the expat population out numbers the local 11-1

10. The beach resorts here are ridiculous



And who would fund the money? more than likely the people who would hold the rights to the event?

People visit a place for the skyline? Maybe somewhere iconic like New York or a beautiful Harbour like Sydney, Dubai nope.

A big shopping mall?

A desert?

The safest place in the middle east? that works.



You have already described how nice the weather is there, its a friggin furnace most of the time.





Who is seriously suggesting holding the Event?

The place is corrupt and many workers there are pretty well slave labour, would Gay rugby league fans be made to feel welcome?

Could any of the fans afford the exorbitant prices of the better quality Hotels?



We are all different but the Middle East has zero appeal to me.

I would not be interested in going there for free to be honest.

I imagine it wouldn't be hard to scrounge up the cash from locals to set it up, like the Canberra-Manly game to be played in China. Especially when the NRL and RFL can point to the Auckland Nines success.



After that all they need is to let the clubs try and pick up sponsors. There is a lot of money and a lot of expats in the region and if it means the Shirefolk can finally get a sponsor after a season without then it's a positive for the game imo.

Only some of the expats would be League fans and then only some of them would go.

Plenty of expats in London, where were those league fans at the London Broncos games?



I don't get the idea that putting a cut down version of a game that is widely ignored outside of Oz, NZ and a small part of the UK will suddenly get global sponsors backing the Cronulla Sharks or the Newcastle Knights?

Why would a company do that, Super League has had half d sponsors for the naming rights of the game for several years including the fantastic Stobbart deal.



Maybe I don't understand marketing and what companies want in "bang for their buck" or return on investment.

No-ones saying it'd get global sponsors suddenly or immediately, just that bringing rugby league to a business audience outside its traditional, very restricted boundaries might not be a terrible idea.



You say yourself that it's widely ignored outside certain areas. Well only playing the sport in those same areas won't help it spread will it?



Why do HSBC sponsor the Union 7's?



As for SL's Stobart deal, well that goes very firmly against your argument of staying as we are. It shows we need to encourage and interest other parties in RL. This might entail going farther afield than Bramley or ANZ Stadium.



A 9's comp would seem a relatively cheap and easy way to take the game to new areas. Not only does it allow "new" people a simple and easy introduction to the sport, 9's would be much more competitive than a 13-a-side comp. We could have French, Welsh, Samoan, PNG & Fijian (maybe Italian & US teams) involved in addition to SL & NRL clubs as the gulf in class wouldn't be anywhere near as evident as it is 13-a-side.



The Auckland 9's is great, and hopefully it'll make RL more popular in NZ.

But what's wrong with having a 9's comp that is much more international?

If, as a sport, we've learnt anything from the past 6 years it's that RL only gains significant traction outside its heartland areas iwhen we show the world it's not just Yorkshire, Lancashire, Sydney & Brisbane that play Rugby League.

Actually the nines was the idea of a promotions cpamu who got all the parties together. The NRL came to the table after the prize fund and sponsorship from the local council was in place....

More than 10million tourists visited dubai last year, including many Australians. As said there is also a large expat population in the region. End of day this is about making money for the clubs and organiser. If koukash can guarantee the appearance money and it is enough to entice clubs the event will happen.



Personally I'd rather see it held at the new national stadium in Singapore, much nicer place to visit and the locals would love it I reckon.