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Coventry Bears could be playing against Canadian opposition from 2016 under shock proposals put forward to the Rugby Football League.

Rugby League Canada, a seven-man consortium, have submitted an application to enter a Toronto-based side into the Kingstone Press Championship One competition - the same level as the Coventry Bears will operate next season.

Bears are joining the professional ranks of Rugby League from next season and will be already coming up against the established likes of Rochdale Hornets, Swinton Lions and York City Kights.

The thought is a mouthwatering one for Bears managing director Alan Robinson who told the Telegraph that club's had been told of the well-received proposals at a recent meeting in Leeds.

He said: "This would be a hugely exciting opportunity for Coventry Bears and rugby league, not just on a national level but also on an international platform. The potential to showcase the Bears to a worldwide audience in something that was unthinkable until recently."

Eric Perez, the Chairman of Rugby League Canada, said: “We are proposing to create the first transcontinental sports team – the first North American side in a European league. It will open up markets that were unthinkable recently.

“For the last four years we have been playing international matches in Toronto and we are now averaging almost 7,000 for every Test.

“We also have our own TV programme ‘The Rugby League Show’ which has 90,000 viewers every week and reaches 170,000 for our Test matches.

“We have sponsorship deals with Fosters (brewery) and other major companies, and we have a business plan that will enable us to offer free travel to Canada for our opponents and free accommodation when they get to Toronto.

“We will fly them out on a Thursday, play on Saturday and they will fly back on Sunday, all expenses paid.

“And we will give each club a block of seats in the stand, and if they can sell those tickets, any money they make will go back into their club.”

Alan added: "This could potentially open the door for far more revenue into the club, just imagine the prospect of watching Coventry taking on Toronto at the Butts Park Arena. It sounds unreal but it could now be reality."

An RFL spokesman said: “We have received an application from a Canadian consortium to enter a team into League 1 [the current Championship 1] in the 2016 season.

“The consortium delivered a presentation to the Championship clubs at a meeting in Leeds, on Wednesday, which was well-received by the club representatives present.

“The RFL will now produce a report into the proposal for consideration by the governing body’s independent board of directors who will make the final decision.”