'No limits to where this game can go': Abdo leaves lasting legacy

From helping to ensure the NRL was the first major sporting competition to resume during COVID to the growth of the NRLW and the international game to entrenching rugby league as the No.1 sport in Australia and the Pacific, Andrew Abdo’s legacy will last well beyond his departure on July 15.

And the departing NRL CEO believes the code is only getting started in terms of what it can achieve in coming years after the foundations put in place during his six-year tenure, working in tandem with ARLC Chair Peter V’landys.

It’s been a partnership that enabled the game to navigate its greatest challenge since the Super League War and come out bigger, better and stronger than ever.

There are now more people playing, watching and supporting the game than at any time since rugby league’s establishment in Australia in 1908.

“Andrew has been, by far, the best CEO of the NRL,” V’landys said. “The rapid growth of the game in the last six years has been extraordinary. We've got more viewers, more revenue, more assets, more everything … “

While there is never a good time for the Chief Executive to depart any organisation, Abdo will take charge of Tennis Australia with the comfort of knowing he has achieved his goal of leaving the game in a better place than when he started.

That was in 2020, at the outbreak of the COVID pandemic, and there were fears about the game’s survival due to a lack of assets and ability to generate revenue after international borders were closed and sport was shut down in early 2020.

Fast forward to now, and the NRL is preparing to host the 2026 World Cup, enter a partnership with Super League, introduce new teams in Perth and Papua New Guinea, take Origin to New Zealand, play a premiership match in London and embark on a fourth excursion to Las Vegas to kick off the 2027 season.

The 2025 grand final between the Broncos and Storm was the most watched grand final in Australian sporting history, drawing an average television audience of 4.55m with a reach of 6.4m viewers.

Significantly, the 2025 grand final was Australia’s No.1 most-watched program across key demographics and major markets; ranking No.1 among 16–39s and 25–54s, as well as in NSW, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia.

“Today the game is strong, it's vibrant, it's healthy. More people, and importantly, more young people than ever before playing the sport and of course, more fans are enjoying the sport,” Abdo said.

“The exciting part, and I really believe this, is that rugby league is only just getting started on its growth potential. The game is scratching the surface of what is possible and there is literally no limit to where this game will go.”

Abdo will stay on until July 15 with the ambition of helping to negotiate the biggest television deal in the game’s history.

V’landys will then take over the day-to-day running of the game until a replacement is found after taking four months leave from his job as CEO of Racing NSW.

“Rugby League is incredibly lucky, as is racing, to have someone with Peter’s depth of experience, and his care,” Abdo said.

“I've never worked with or been close to someone who takes his role so importantly, particularly around the care for the game, the care for the customers, the care for the stakeholders in the game, the members of the game.

“If you're going into a fight, if you're dealing with a crisis, if you're looking for growth, if you're looking for bold decisions, if you're looking for taking a risk of which the sport would be the beneficiary for, you want Peter at the helm of that.

“I can say that with a fair amount of conviction, having had a front row seat over the last six years.

“Peter and I have been through so much together and we formed a deep bond and a deep trust. That has given me the ability to work with an amazing group of people, none more so than Peter as the leader, to do wonderful things together.

“We defied the impossible during COVID, Vegas, international expansion, the growth of the women's game and more recently, the exciting growth into the Pacific, which I believe will be an unbelievable opportunity for not only Australians, but the people all around New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa as well.

“This game has no limits to where it's going. I say that with absolute confidence. This is an exciting time for the game, and an opportunity for someone else to take that mantle and take the game forward.”