The future of North Yorkshire's ground-breaking rugby league development project was today hanging in the balance.

Almost 2,000 children from 24 schools in the York area have been introduced to the sport since the scheme was launched just 12 months ago. But organisers fear the foundations of the development project will be swept away due to a lack of financial backing.

The first year of the project, run by the North Yorkshire Rugby League Development Group, was funded by cash from Bell Cablemedia, York Rugby League Club and the Government's Sportsmatch programme. However, no new backers have yet been secured to fund the second year of the scheme - known as Matchpoint - despite talks with a number of local companies and the Rugby Football League.

Youth development officer Tony Gargan today told the Evening Press that the project is facing collapse unless new sponsors come forward. "A lot of work has been done, we have spent time with about 1,800 kids in 12 months, and for it to all fold would be an absolute shame," said Gargan.

"We are starting to get kids through to the amateur clubs and we want to branch out to other areas in North Yorkshire but we need two or three companies to put money in. Sponsorship of £10,000 would be enough to run it for another year because that would be matched by Sportsmatch."

The success of a pilot scheme undertaken in 1996/7, particularly the response from parents, teachers, clubs and youngsters, led to the creation of Matchpoint.

The appointment of Gargan as the area's first full-time development officer was hailed as an historic move for the sport last August.But Gargan, a former Wasps Academy coach, claimed that work put in to get the scheme off the ground could be wasted.

"We get £87 million from Sky as a sport, there is a lot of money floating about but it doesn't seem to get to development level," he said.

"We need something to happen or it is going to go under. Most of the kids involved are kids who have never seen a rugby ball before. This week alone I will have seen 350 kids at different schools."

York RL are unlikely to provide further funding for the scheme in it's present form, with chief executive Phil Elliott stating: "Next year's development programme under the umbrella of York Rugby League Club will be fundamentally reviewed. The club's view is that this last year it has been fragmented and diluted the impact."

Since the Matchpoint launch, Bell Cablemedia have merged with Cable & Wireless. A spokesman said today they are still assessing their sponsorship strategy and all backing of local schemes was currently suspended.

Gargan, meanwhile, added that there was sufficient funding to keep the scheme running until the end of August, including a series of summer coaching courses at sports centres and amateur clubs.

But Gargan and the North Yorkshire Rugby League Development Group are "deeply concerned" about the future of the scheme beyond next month.

Mike Kilmartin, a teacher at Our Lady's Primary School, Acomb, and a member of the Development Group committee, declared the Matchpoint scheme provided "essential" skills for pupils, such as hand-eye co-ordination, running and balance. "It would be a shame to lose it," said Kilmartin. "Tony provides a way to experience rugby because it is quite daunting to go to a club if you have never played before. Take that away and we would definitely struggle."

Anyone interested in putting together a rescue package for the development programme should contact Group chairman Peter Geraghty on 01904 636949 or Gargan on 01904 781366.

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