Jersey Reds have confirmed they will cease trading ahead of their Friday night cup fixture against Cornish Pirates; it’s the latest big financial news in English rugby after Wasps and Worcester and London Irish went into administration; all 13 Premiership clubs made a loss last season
Last Updated: 28/09/23 11:33am
English club rugby’s bleak financial climate has claimed another victim after Jersey Reds announced they have ceased trading.
The Reds claimed their first RFU Championship title last season but after 11 years in the second tier and a decade as a professional outfit, they face liquidation unless emergency funding can be secured.
News of their likely demise comes after Gallagher Premiership clubs Wasps, Worcester and London Irish entered administration during the 2022-23 campaign, reducing the top flight to a 10-team competition.
The Championship has faced an uncertain future from 2020, since the Rugby Football Union has completed two rounds of funding cuts.
Players and staff at the Reds were told on Thursday morning that they would not receive their September salaries and that Friday night’s Premiership Rugby Cup tie against Cornish Pirates could not be fulfilled.
Chairman Mark Morgan criticised the game’s powerbrokers for failing to put into place a structure for the second tier that would have allowed the club to attract financing.
“We had been able to start the season and maintain sufficient funds to cover the summer, but regret that our conversations with potential new investors as well as existing ones have been unsuccessful,” Morgan said.
“At one stage at the end of last season it appeared there was a viable way forward for the second tier once the new Professional Game Agreement was implemented from summer 2024, but Championship clubs have been left in the dark since that point.
“This led to a growing fatigue among those who may have invested but could not be given any concrete assurance about when the new structure would come in or how it would be funded.
“There are a large number of players, coaches and other members of staff who have made huge contributions to the club in recent seasons and we regret that the massive effect this will have on all of them. It’s a very sad day.”
