Jersey Reds have confirmed they will cease trading ahead of their cup tie on Friday evening against Cornish Pirates; it’s the latest big financial news in English rugby after Wasps, Worcester and London Irish came under government; all thirteen Premier League clubs suffered losses last season
Last updated: 28/09/23 11:33 am
The English rugby club’s bleak financial climate has claimed another victim after Jersey Reds announced they were ceasing operations.
The Reds claimed their first RFU Championship title last season, but after 11 years in the second tier and 10 years as a professional club they are in danger of 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 season, reducing the top flight to a 10-team competition.
The Championship faces an uncertain future from 2020 as the Rugby Football Union completed two rounds of budget cuts.
Reds players and staff were told on Thursday morning that they would not receive their salaries for September and that Friday evening’s Premiership Rugby Cup match against Cornish Pirates could not be made.
Chairman Mark Morgan criticized the game’s power brokers for failing to put in place a second-tier structure that would have allowed the club to attract funding.
“We could have started the season and retained sufficient resources to cover the summer, but regret that our discussions with both potential new and existing investors were not successful,” Morgan said.
“At one point towards the end of last season it looked like there was a viable way forward for the second tier after the new Professional Game Agreement was implemented from the summer of 2024, but Championship clubs have since been left in the dark.
“This led to a growing fatigue among those who may have invested but could not get any concrete certainty about when the new structure would arrive or how it would be financed.
“There are a large number of players, coaches and other staff who have made a huge contribution to the club over recent seasons and we regret the huge effect this will have on them all. It is a very sad day.”