IRFU make €500,000 Available to Clubs Hit By Covid-19 Season Cancellation

The Irish Rugby Football Union has said it will make €500,000 available to clubs due to the cancellation of the season following the Covid-19 crisis.

After reviewing it’s financial position and agreeing on a way forward, Domestic Games Director Colin McEntee will inform clubs of the application process.

The union will also provide clubs with additional guidance and advice in relation to maintaining their clubs during what is very much unchartered waters.

Irish Rugby will continually assess the financial implications and damage caused by the crisis across all strands of the game nationally with the duration of the corona crisis being a key factor in any recovery.

The IRFU issued the following statement on their website.

The 2019/20 domestic season concluded last week with a number of fixtures outstanding. Current government restrictions also prevent clubs from running important fundraising events.

We know that this has placed many clubs in a difficult financial situation, particularly with regard to cashflow.

The IRFU’s revenue stream has been severely curtailed, however we want to support clubs as much as we can.

What are the IRFU doing for clubs?

1. We have agreed to funding of €500,000 to be made available to clubs. We will come back to you with further detail as soon as is practicable.
2. We will put in place a moratorium on all club loan repayments for four months from April 1st.

Loans in excess of €4 million have been made available to clubs by the IRFU under its current Financial Assistance Scheme. A moratorium on all club loan repayments will be put in place for a period of four months, effective from April 1st, 2020. This will benefit the 56 clubs with payments outstanding to a value of over €150,000 during this period.

What can clubs do?

The IRFU encourages all of its clubs to draw on any government assistance available to them.

There are a range of support schemes for organisations impacted financially from coronavirus.

The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation has outlined a number of Government supports for COVID-19 impacted businesses including:

• Credit Guarantee Scheme
• Loans for microenterprises
• €200m SBCI COVID-19 Working Capital Scheme
• €200m Package for Enterprise Supports
• Advice for engaging with revenue, checking insurance covert, talking to your bank and taking immediate steps to manage your cashflows.

The IRFU are in ongoing contact with Sport Ireland and will provide updates with specific information on how this relates to rugby.

Clubs are advised not to contact provincial branches in relation to funding until an update has been provided centrally from the IRFU.