Huge pay rise for CEO Sweeney as RFU posts record loss

London — Rugby Football Union (RFU) CEO Bill Sweeney received a pay rise of more than £400,000 even though the English governing body announced a record operating loss of £37.9m on Monday.

The annual report showed revenue of £175.2m compared to £221.4m in the previous year, with investment in rugby at £96.1m and an operating loss of £37.9m compared to a £4m profit in the previous year.

Sweeney was paid £1.1m — an increase from £684,000 — comprising a basic salary and bonus of £742,000 as well as a payment of £358,000 as part of a long-term incentive plan, making him now the highest-paid CEO of a British sporting body.

Former England and Wales Cricket Board CEO Tom Harrison, now CEO of the Six Nations, received £1.13m before he left in 2022, also bolstered by a one-off payment, while Mark Bullingham, the top man at the Football Association, earned £850,000 according to their latest accounts.

Sweeney’s figures will make uncomfortable reading for about 40 people being made redundant by the RFU, the third swathe of job cuts in the past six years.

Income from the new £100m sponsorship deal with Allianz for the naming rights of Twickenham Stadium did not feature in last year’s accounts.

“As expected in a World Cup year, investment in our England teams increased to £28.7m vs £25.5m in the prior year,” the report reads.

“There was £24.9m invested in professional men’s and women’s clubs and £12m invested in professional match officials, sports medicine and events and competitions.”

RFU board chair Tom Ilube said: “Four years ago the game faced an unprecedented and unforeseen set of challenges and costs triggered by Covid-19.

“We end this latest four-year cycle with a strong balance sheet, no debt, a robust cash position and positive P&L [profit and loss account] reserves “That is the result of strong leadership and hard work from everyone involved in rugby,” he added.

“The Rugby World Cup revenue impacts we see in this financial year were anticipated, planned for and they are in line with expectations.

“This has enabled us to continue investing strategically in the game at all levels with confidence.

“During the pandemic, the executive team took deeper and longer salary cuts than the rest of the organisation along with a reduced bonus.

“The LTIP [long-term incentive plan] recognised the material and voluntary reduction in remuneration, despite an exceptional increase in workload, while also incentivising the executive team to remain in post to deliver against challenging multiyear targets.”

Sweeney posted a positive picture of the game, despite the losses and the financial struggles of most of the country’s professional clubs.

“In the community game player numbers have stabilised, with more teams playing in RFU leagues and players reporting feeling safer as a result of a reduction in the tackle height,” he said.

“We have seen a year-on-year increase in age grade player registrations with boys’ registrations increasing by 16% and girls’ by 10%

Reuters