Super League Clubs Face Rising Debts
Super League clubs are facing combined debts of £68.5m, according to a BBC Inside Out investigation, with several teams failing to generate sufficient turnover.
Sports finance expert Rob Wilson told the BBC: ‘Our findings indicate that there is a cumulative net debt of £68.5m among the Super League clubs with three or four clubs performing well. The remaining clubs appear to make annual losses which contribute to the net debt position, some just about wash their faces financially while others appear to have lost control of their spending.’
‘Of course, there are clubs in the league structure who make a profit and it is their business model that others should seek to utilise.’
However, the Rugby Football League added that the debt should be put into context.
RFL director of standards and licensing Blake Solly added: ‘Rugby League’s health compares favourably to every other major sports. Attendances were at an all-time high in 2012, more people saw the game on television than ever before and the RFL was able to make record levels of financial disbursements to clubs.’
Meanwhile, talkSPORT has announced a new agreement with Heinz BIG Soup, Official Partner of the Super League, to sponsor the station’s Rugby League coverage throughout the 2013 Super League season.
The multiplatform deal will run both on air on talkSPORT and in print in the station’s sister publication Sport magazine. On air, the promotion will include regular features in talkSPORT’s afternoon show, Hawksbee and Jacobs, previewing and reviewing the weekend’s Super League games as well as a weekly ticket giveaway and interviews with the top names in Rugby League. There will also be a week-long promotion on Drive with Adrian Durham and Darren Gough.
Heinz BIG Soup is in its second season of a two-year sponsorship of the Rugby Football League as Official Partner of the Super League.
Chris Nunn, senior brand manager, Heinz BIG Soup, commented: ‘We are very excited to be working with talkSPORT and Sport magazine as part of our 2013 campaign to promote rugby league to a national audience. I look forward to tuning into Hawksbee and Jacobs’ take on the world of Super League which I’m sure will lead to a new legion of fans becoming involved with the sport this season.’
