Shorts: Rugby Union, Pto, Rochdale AFC
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Premiership Rugby will be required to stand in front of a parliamentary inquiry to address ‘serious concerns about the future of the sport.’
This follows the most recent financial troubles in top-flight English rugby union, with Wasps falling into administration on Monday 17th October and the entire squad losing their jobs. Wasps followed another Premiership club, Worcester Warriors that fell into administration two weeks prior.
Both organisations will face the digital, culture, media and sport (DCMS) select committee of MPs in November.
The DCMS Committee Chair, Julian Knight, said, “The fact that two of the country’s top clubs have now suffered the fate of falling into administration raises serious concerns about the future of the sport and its financial viability. The RFU and Premiership Rugby have acknowledged the need to set a more sustainable path for club rugby. We will be pressing them to ensure they are putting the foundations in place to guarantee the health of the sport from the top level right down to the grassroots.”
Chris Kermode has been announced as the new Executive Chairman of the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO), replacing Charles Adamo in the role.
57-year-old Kermode, who began his career as a professional tennis player and previously served as the Executive Chairman and President of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) from 2014 to 2019, has been on the PTO’s Board of Directors since July 2020.
On his new appointment, Kermode, said, “It is a privilege to be given the opportunity to help accelerate the PTO’s mission and support the PTO Professionals. Over the last two years we have made great strides in establishing our events and lifting the triathlon broadcasts to the next level. The PTO business model and the triathlon market is compelling, with many similarities to professional tennis which began to boom once the professionals started to act together to promote the sport through expanding their fan base.
“Professional triathlon has enormous potential to develop into a mainstream sport. This will require a unified front from the professionals and aligned interests with the commercial partners. That is why the unique ownership structure of the PTO, where the professionals and investors have ownership interests in the success of the venture, is so valuable and why I am confident that the PTO can be the catalyst that turns triathlon into a success and a mainstream sport.”
League Two football club Rochdale AFC has been given a six-point deduction by the English Football League, suspended for two years, after failing to comply with the league’s regulations over an attempted takeover by Morton House MGT.
Additionally, former CEO David Bottomley and current Chief Operating Officer at National League North side AFC Fylde, has been given a two-year ban from operating as a relevant person.
EFL Chief Executive, Trevor Birch, said, “These sanctions serve as an appropriate reminder to clubs, their officials and potential owners that disregarding those requirements can lead to significant consequences as this case has proved.”
