Ottawa’s rugby league team announces move to England

The fledgling Ottawa Aces, yet to take the field, are leaving Canada for England.

The rugby league franchise was originally slated to debut in 2021 in the third tier of English rugby league – the Betfred League 1.

But citing the global pandemic, Ottawa and the Rugby Football League announced last November that the Aces’ debut was being pushed back to 2022.

On Friday, the club announced it was leaving Canada for good.

“It is with heavy hearts we must announce our club will be forced to permanently relocate back to England, and a more stable operating environment,” the club said in a statement.

“In the coming weeks, our new permanent location in England will be revealed. Due to this move, all season ticket membership deposits will be refunded.”

The Aces’ move follows the demise of the Toronto Wolfpack.

Taking the field in the English third tier in 2017, the Wolfpack won promotion to the elite Super League. But the club stood down in July, 2020, saying it could not afford to play out the remainder of the pandemic-affected 2020 Super League season.

Super League clubs eventually rejected the Wolfpack’s bid to return in 2021. The Aces are the brainchild of president/chairman Eric Perez, who founded the Wolfpack.