BBC Radio Five Live's popular Any Sporting Questions? has been lured to York for the first time as part of the York Golden Jubilee Rugby League Festival.

The programme, hosted by presenter Nick Mullins, will be broadcast live from Acomb's Acorn Amateur Rugby League Club on Tuesday, May 21, as part of a programme of pre-festival appetisers.

The rugby league festival is being held to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee and will bring teams from the rest of the UK, Ireland and France to York on bank holiday Monday, June 3.

Heworth ARLC is hosting the tournament but, like Heworth and all the other rugby league clubs in the city, Acorn has provided players for the unique York Ironsides squad - an invitation team which will provide the local interest in the tournament.

Any Sporting Questions? features a celebrity sporting panel taking questions from the audience on the latest sporting issues. Radio Five Live is on 909 and 693 AM and has an audience of 6.25 million.

John Batchelor, the new owner of York City Football Club, has been confirmed as the first guest for the panel for the York show which is the first of a new series and will be broadcast live between 8pm and 9.30pm on May 21. Other guests and ticket information will be revealed soon.

Linda Hill, Acorn ARLC treasurer, said, "We are delighted to be hosting this event for BBC Radio Live Five. It is a great opportunity for the club and for rugby league in the city and helps to highlight the commitment we have to raising the profile of the sport in York.

"This event and the nines tournament at Heworth will be a great and much-needed boost for rugby league in York."

Next month's rugby nines event has an English Civil War theme and 15 teams will join the Ironsides to play for the Fairfax Cup.

The York Ironsides are named in honour of the city's history in support of Oliver Cromwell's Roundhead forces during the English Civil War.

The tournament is backed by the Rugby Football League and City of York Council which approached BBC Five Live to bring Any Sporting Questions? to York.

Councillor Alan Jones, the council's executive member for leisure and heritage, said, "The people of York are sports-loving folk. Support for rugby in the city goes back more than 100 years and I am sure Any Sporting Questions? will get a warm welcome at Acorn rugby league club.

"Having Any Sporting Questions? In York will be an excellent appetiser for the Jubilee Nines tournament and is also an opportunity to bring supporters of other sports together. With more than six million listeners the programme will also help to raise the profile of the city."

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Notes for Editors: The teams will play for the Fairfax Cup - named after the roundhead commander Lord Fairfax who petitioned King Charles I at Heworth 360 years ago. Each team will play three matches in a preliminary 'group stage' featuring four teams per group. The top two teams in each group will then go forward to the quarter final stage. The full draw is: o Group A - FC Lezignan-Corbieres, North Wales Coasters, Edinburgh Eagles, London KooGas o Group B - York Ironsides, The Army, Dublin Blues, Royal Air Force o Group C - Les Hussards de Paris, Cork Bulls, Teesside Steelers, South Asia Bulls o Group D - Belfast, Cardiff Demons, Glasgow Bulls, Royal Navy The York Ironsides preliminary 'training' squad - made up of players from local clubs and which will be whittled down to 13 for the tournament - is as follows - o Manager: Spen Allison; Coaches: Alfie Hill, Paul Higgins; Physio: Jonti Thompson. o Players: Steve Barnard, Nikki Wilson, Jason Kane, Mark Green, Nathan Witty, John Coulson, Brendan Carlyle, Gavin Grant, Sam Clark, Dave Carling, Wayne Foster (all Heworth ARLC); John Hough, Alan Willitts, John Waldron, Lee Frank, Michael Embleton, Danny Liddell (all York Acorn); Simon Moat, Martin Simpson, Paul Scott (all York Groves); Jo Hnesh (New Earswick All Blacks); Jonny Liddell, Peter Fox, Michael Harrison, Carl Barrow, Lee Paterson.