Rugby joining the queue of sports asking government for financial help during coronavirus lockdown
Already struggling financially while in the midst of trying to secure a new broadcast deal, rugby is facing a devastating financial hit following the suspension of Super Rugby for “the foreseeable future.”
Rugby
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Rugby officials are preparing to go cap in hand to the federal and state governments seeking financial support to help keep the game afloat during the global coronavirus crisis.
Already struggling financially while in the midst of trying to secure a new broadcast deal, rugby is facing a devastating financial hit following the suspension of Super Rugby for “the foreseeable future”.
Rugby Australia has already held a series of emergency talks with key stakeholders, including SANZAAR, the state unions, the players association and broadcast partners, in preparation for a series of critical decisions that will determine how well the sport navigates the unfolding situation.
The Daily Telegraph understands that players will be told to continue training with their state teams as usual despite the postponement of Super Rugby while officials try and come up with an alternative competition to provide content for their broadcast partners.
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This includes the Western Force, who have also been left high and dry after the suspension of Global Rapid Rugby, which had a key representative involved in one of the three telephone hook ups that took place over the weekend.
Just when and how any matches will resume is still to be decided but will largely be determined by the latest advice and recommendations provided by government and health officials, which is changing daily.
The only certainty is that matches will have to be played wholly within Australia and involve only local teams after the government’s introduction of strict new border restrictions, including 14-day quarantine periods for all arrivals in Australia.
It’s unlikely that the premier club competitions – Shute Shield and Hospital Cup – will fill the void as they face the likely prospect of delays to their upcoming season, along with community club rugby, junior rugby and school rugby competitions.
Those decisions will be made in the next 24-48 hours ahead of one of the most critical weeks the sport has ever faced.
It’s understood that Rugby Australia created a working group several weeks ago to prepare for the threat posed by COVID-19 and one of the first realisations was that the game would need government support if the game was forced into lockdown as part of the attempt to slow the spread of the killer virus.
Because of the fluid state of the crisis, rugby officials haven’t come up with a definitive dollar figure of how much the money the game will need but will be meeting with federal and state governments as early as Monday to begin talks.
This week also marks the end of the window for prospective broadcast partners to sign RA’s nondisclosure agreement for the coverage rights for 2021-25.
The window has already been extended by a week after RA did not receive a single offer and a further delay could be on the cards if any potential buyers aren’t ready to go to the offer phase because of the uncertain global financial climate.