While it’s important to maintain a club’s heritage, its history, its roots, it’s increasingly important to ensure a club’s survival through outside financial sources, corporate investment, sponsorship, benefactors and strategic partnerships. Make no mistake, from grassroots level through to Premiership rugby, the need for sponsors, benefactors (call them what you will) is impossible to avoid.
The Money Side of Rugby
It’s important to try to ensure that this is also done in a sustainable way, not always so straightforward, by working with established partners, those who you know are invested in rugby itself, in its core values, and in the spirit of the game. This can also be achievable by searching for smaller investments, from a larger number of backers, and then, should the worst happen, and somebody pulls the plug, your club isn’t left high & dry!
One can remember furor when Mike Ashley renamed St. James Park to The Sports Direct Arena. It caused mayhem among the die-hard Newcastle United football supporters.
It’s understandable why they’re upset. It is seen as an insult, as a lack of respect even. It’s very similar to Hull City’s Assem Allam wanting to rename the club – blasphemous!
The thing that has to be remembered by all the lifelong supporters and fans is that without the financial back-up that somebody such as Mr. Ashley or Mr. Allam brings, there is no club.
Recently, Ravenhill, the home of Ulster Rugby, was renamed the Kingspan Stadium and in a matter of minutes there were comments and views on Twitter, saying “how could they rename our home”?
There is nothing to say that you can’t text your mates, or while in the pub ask them if they’re going up to Ravenhill to watch the boys. Of course you would. You would be unlikely to say “I’m going up to the Kingspan” if you’ve been watching your beloved province for the whole of your life.
Without you, the supporters, the club would not survive. A balance has to be struck. But make no mistake, the importance of the support of a company such as Kingspan is only possible when the world sees The Kingspan Stadium in social media, in the press, in merchandising, marketing promotions and on television.
At a grassroots level, I have just stepped down from near on eight years working at my local club, playing at Level 6/7 of the English national structure. I was tasked with finding something in the region of £75k per season, just to run the clubhouse.
We didn’t pay players, we didn’t have extravagant travel budgets–it was purely to provide a base for our minis, juniors, their parents, the players, to maintain their home to a high standard, provide a bar, a function room, changing rooms and to hold sponsored match day lunches (again a massively important source of revenue).
Even at Level 5, grounds are being named after benefactors and sponsors, and then onto the International stage, Murrayfield, Scotland’s home is also now being backed by BT (The BT Murrayfield Stadium).
Clubs such as Saracens are forging strategic partnerships worldwide, which extends the Saracens brand into developing rugby nations through Saracens Global Network. It gives clubs the chance to use their corporate marketing ability, gets players onto a programme to come to Saracens, but more importantly it gets that brand to a global audience.
It will be interesting to see how their latest partner club, Seattle OPSB (now Seattle Saracens), develops. I’ve been to Seattle, and return again in September, so I have an affinity that will last with me. The great Waisale Serevi and his team at Serevi Rugby are based in Seattle. The vibe around the city for rugby is growing daily, and it’s a really exciting time for rugby in the USA, generally speaking.
Your club needs you and your support, but it also needs the financial support of its sponsors. To survive, the membership of clubs need to embrace this fact and to take a more active role in finding that support at grassroots level. Sponsors must also be mindful & respectful of supporters, and where an impasse is reached, look to find a solution that keeps us all happy & ensure our beloved clubs move from strength to strength.
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