Winter Olympics - Team GB Homecoming - Heathrow Airport, London, Britain - February 26, 2018 Bill Sweeney (CEO, BOA) during the press conference Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra/ File Photo
LONDON (Reuters) -Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney received a pay rise of over 400,000 pounds even though the English governing body announced a record operating loss of 37.9 million pounds ($48 million) on Monday.
The annual report showed revenues of 175.2 million compared with 221.4m in the previous year, with investment in rugby at 96.1m and an operating loss of £37.9m (a drastic plunge from 4 million profit in the previous year).
Sweeney was paid a total of 1.1 million pounds - an increase from 684,000 pounds - made up of a basic salary and bonus of 742,000 pounds as well as a payment of 358,000 pounds as part of a long-term incentive plan, making him currently 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 1.13 million pounds before he left in 2022, also bolstered by a one-off payment, while Mark Bullingham, top man at the Football Association, earned 850,000 pounds according to their latest accounts.
Sweeney's figures will make uncomfortable reading for the around 40 people currently being made redundant by the RFU, the third major swathe of redundancies in the last six years.
Income from the new 100 million sponsorship deal with Allianz for 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 v 25.5m in the prior year," the report said. "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 chairman Tom Ilube said: “Four years ago the game faced an unprecedented and unforeseen set of challenges and costs triggered by COVID. We end this latest four-year cycle with a strong balance sheet, no debt, a robust cash position and positive P&L reserves. That is the result of strong leadership and hard work from everyone involved in rugby.
"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 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 multi-year 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%.
“As we look forward to hosting the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, the Impact ’25 legacy programme that we are delivering with Government, Sport England and UK Sport has already seen £12.13m committed in England and the home unions, creating more rugby opportunities for women and girls. "We continue to retain and attract new partners and are delighted that one of the world’s leading insurers, Allianz have extended their support for rugby with a significant, long-term investment in the game. The partnership will be transformative, not only to the elite men’s and women’s teams but also aims to have a positive impact on community clubs around the country."
($1 = 0.7962 pounds)
(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Ken Ferris and Pritha Sarkar)
