Adaptability, efficiency and a personal touch: exploring GameDay’s success with the RFL
Since 2016, GameDay have been in proud partnership with the Rugby Football League (RFL), the governing body for professional rugby league in England.
GameDay have played a key role in supporting the RFL’s move away from being a paper-based organisation, centralising various digital touchpoints to offer a more user-friendly experience and consolidate data and processes.
Amongst other things, GameDay have provided the RFL with an official registration and competition management platform for rugby league.
And with a system tailored to meet the needs of the professional game down to grassroots level, it seems a shrewd partnership as the RFL looks to improve the efficiency of the sport’s administration across all levels.
So, how have the RFL digitised operations with GameDay’s support, and what is the secret behind the longevity of the relationship?
How the partnership has evolved
In 2016, the RFL first began working with GameDay, who were tasked with facilitating the evolution of their digital ecosystem.
Previously, many of the RFL’s administrative tasks were paper-based and, in the words of the organisation’s head of technology Richard Donlon, not befitting of the modern age.
GameDay helped bring a number of the RFL’s existing systems under one umbrella, providing a solution that brought together aspects of competition management and registration management for both the community and professional game into one place.
“It was a big change for us culturally at the time,” Donlon said.
“We had to get a lot of stakeholders to understand the changes we were trying to implement, and work with them to apply it to all the leagues, from professional down to community level.
“It was a big technical project, and a cultural project too. The initial part of the relationship centred around that, and the help that GameDay could provide from a digital perspective.
“We looked at ways in which we could tailor the system to meet our needs, which is one of the best things about the GameDay product.
“It’s quite flexible, although certain things are set in their place, and it works in a way. You can change or customise it to meet your needs around registration and competition management, so it was about finding something that worked for us.
“Over time, the system has been customised with things we’ve commissioned, and we’ve also worked with GameDay on the product improvements they’ve made to the system. It’s quite a different-looking and functional thing to what we started with.”
While the product has continued to evolve over the years, its importance and necessity in supporting the RFL’s day-to-day running has remained largely the same.
Inevitable challenges have arisen as both parties have looked to develop a product suitable for all levels, but those hurdles have been firmly embraced.
“Ultimately, it’s a system that is still good at meeting our needs, which are quite varied,” Donlon added.
“Making something work for both professional and community club environments can be a challenge. There are a lot of stakeholders involved, but the GameDay system does a good job [of catering to everyone]. That’s down to the way the system has developed, and the relationship between GameDay and the RFL.”
A system for all
While other software providers can often be more rigid in terms of the product on offer, GameDay are proud to work closely with partners to further tailor its market-leading software to suit individual needs and necessities.
“If you look at things philosophically, in any relationship, professional or personal, things change over time, so you need to be in a position where you have something that can meet the change in needs,” Donlon explained.
“The flexibility to do that is vital. Some software providers have a ‘use it or don’t use it’ type of attitude, whereas we’ve always had a positive relationship with GameDay. We’ve gone to them with ideas, and they’ve come to us with ideas.
“They’ve always been very receptive. When it comes to understanding the difference between the really important things and the ‘nice to do’s’, I think GameDay are really good at that.
“Developments to the system that have taken place often benefit all clients. It is really useful when you’ve got other sporting bodies working with GameDay who can benefit from our ideas, and we’ve no-doubt benefitted from some of theirs as well.”
Introduction of a membership fee
One of the RFL’s biggest changes in recent years saw the introduction of a game-wide membership fee in 2022.
The introduction of such a large scheme was a major change for the organisation and required a robust digital framework, which GameDay were able to implement behind the scenes ahead of its launch.
Discussing the introduction of the membership fee, Donlon said: “That was a big technical change, as much as it was a cultural change.
“As a sport, we were one of the last to charge an annual membership fee for playing. As you can imagine, it wasn’t a popular thing to put out to people, but it only brought us into line with what we needed to do.
“You’re always mindful of not making things harder than they need to be. We already had people registering online via the GameDay registration forms, but we now needed to add that payment element.
“GameDay offered a built-in solution which had been used for many years by other clients, so it made it an easy transition for us as there was already tried-and-tested software that we could use and make it a pain-free process.
“Going back to the cultural point, GameDay helped us a little through previous experiences and recommended things that they’d seen work for other sports in the past, which was as helpful as the technology provided.”
Integrating with other partners
In early 2023, GameDay and Rewards4, the largest operator of sports-based rewards programmes, teamed up with the RFL on a new integration allowing RFL Our League active members the opportunity to save money on their national registration fees when registering with GameDay.
This was the latest step in an already-successful relationship with the RFL, enabling rugby league participants and volunteers to transform their commitment to the sport into more tangible benefits.
Donlon highlights the willingness of GameDay to work alongside the RFL’s other partners as an important factor contributing to the longevity of the relationship.
“It was pleasing to be able to integrate with Rewards4.
“People could earn points for doing the RFL app’s prediction game or voting for their Player of the Match, in-effect allowing them to earn digital currency in the form of points that had a financial value and could be redeemed against their membership.
“We distribute points for playing too, so the more you play the more points you have, and those points can be used against next year’s registration costs.
“With that aspect of things, it helps people because we’re always aware of economies and challenges that people have at the moment financially, so anything we can do to ease that burden helps.
“In order to do that, you have to have partners who are willing to integrate and do the things that need to be done, and GameDay have always been a partner willing to integrate with our other suppliers.
“We have a number of integrations in order to do everything we want, and we will continue to do so. We have a series of best-in-class systems, so you need partners who are willing to work with other partners in the right way, and put those integrations in place.
“GameDay have always been willing to do that, which is important to us.”
Use of GameDay View
Amongst other things, the RFL have already begun to embrace the power of GameDay View, our business intelligence platform.
GameDay View gives organisations the opportunity to learn more about their sport, members and participants, organisations and events – providing key insights, trends and predictive analysis on retention, participation, competitions, events, demographic data and more.
It also enables organisations to dive deeper into the data by benchmarking and reviewing growth or decline trends across sub-organisations, leagues, associations and clubs.
These types of insights allow decisions to be made based on real-time analytics, allowing users to start understanding the data and taking action sooner.
As Donlon explains, this is of real benefit to the RFL as it looks to capitalise on the growth of the sport in recent years, primarily below the professional game.
And while the RFL have only recently started to scratch the surface of what is possible with GameDay View, its potential is there for all to see.
“The wealth of data we have around the community game has grown massively over the years, so the starting point for having a successful reporting product is to have the data in the first place,” he said.
“The fact that GameDay helps us collect that data and store it ready for us to analyse has been useful already. The GameDay View product is the icing on the cake, allowing us to start to see that in a more visual format.
“The data and the way we can use it is essential. It will also get the information to us quicker, and as an organisation, we can make some actionable outcomes off the back of it.
“When it’s fully established, GameDay View will be a really useful product for us. As a sport, it is important for us to be able to develop and understand our strengths and weaknesses.”
The personal touch
Eight years and counting.
A partnership dating back to 2016 shows no signs of slowing down, with GameDay and the RFL continuing to find new ways of supporting the organisation’s members and stakeholders.
But aside from the technological advances, there are other things which set GameDay apart and encourage both parties to grow in tandem for many more years to come.
“One of the things I’ve probably not mentioned, and unfairly so in terms of our relationship with GameDay, is the people,” Donlon reflected.
“From day one to now, we’ve had three or four different account managers, but everyone has been equally committed and dedicated to us as an organisation, and what we are trying to achieve.
“They have taken the time to understand who we are as an organisation and help us achieve our objectives, which is what should happen when you partner with an organisation, but it doesn’t always.
“Four different people have all shown the same level of commitment and excellence in helping us achieve what we want, and that is a great credit to GameDay.”
Photos courtesy of the RFL.