Exeter Chiefs chief executive officer Tony Rowe has issued a statement clarifying that the club is not in financial trouble.
The rumours of the club being in a difficult financial position comes after the departure of several high-profile players and also the demise of London Irish, who became the third Premiership team this season to be placed in administration.
Managing in difficult times
Rowe admits it has been difficult dealing with the aftereffects of the pandemic and the ongoing influence of the Russia-Ukraine war on the global economy. However, he claims that Exeter were well prepared and that the Premiership outfit is in a secure position.
“For the last three years, ever since Covid hit, every club has been tested like never before,” Rowe told his club’s official website. “It’s been a real challenge for all of us, not helped by the ongoing situation with the war in Ukraine, and sadly not every club has been able to get through the process as we have seen.
“To lose another club this week underlines just how tough it has been and it’s a trend that needs to be bucked sooner rather than later.
“Thankfully, the club had assets within its business structure that we were able to use to help bring much-needed funds back in to help combat the repayment on loans and address other issues around the finances.
“That effectively helped keep us afloat through some tough trading months, but now as we look to the future we are very confident that next year we will be back in full recovery mode.
“Sandy Park itself is incredibly busy, Sandy Park Hotel is very busy and with crowds starting to come back into stadiums, both for our men’s and women’s teams, as well as the concerts we are holding here this summer, we see a bright and exciting future ahead for the club and for our business as a whole.”
The club’s chief reiterated that it has been a difficult period and that rugby is an underfunded sport.
“As I said, it’s been a financially challenging time for all of us,” he added. “But what I guess it has shown is just how underfunded the game of rugby itself truly is. That’s something not only clubs have to address moving forward, but it’s also for the likes of Premiership Rugby and those who run the game in this country to really look into.
“We can’t afford to standstill in any shape or form. For the game to grow in the manner we all want, we have to be looking at developing every aspect of it, both on and off the field.”
Bright future
Despite the difficulties, Rowe looks forward to what the future holds for Exeter.
“Personally, I’m really looking forward to the future,” he said. “The squads we are assembling for the new season are hugely exciting and clearly with an eye to the long-term future as well. We have never been a club who look for a short-term fix, we’ve always had a vision of where we want to go, how we want to get there and a realistic time frame of how long that will be.
“Our success in recent years has been built around having those solid foundations and that is what we will continue to do as we look to attack next season and beyond.”
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The article Exeter Chiefs CEO clarifies club’s financial position after online claims appeared first on Planetrugby.com.
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