London Irish could lose spot in Premiership if funds cannot be proved
London Irish could be kicked out of the Premiership if they cannot prove their potential new owners have the funds to keep the rugby club going.
The Rugby Football Union has issued a statement confirming that the club have until 30 May to prove that a proposed takeover – led by Redstrike Group and former NBA and NFL players – is completed or that the club will have sufficient funds to operate next season without threat of falling into administration mid-season like Worcester Warriors and Wasps did this term.
This comes just hours after club sources told City PM that they were confident the deal would be completed by the end of the month.
“The proposed takeover of London Irish by an American consortium has led to a significant amount of uncertainty and speculation about the future of the club, which is having an impact on players, staff, and fans of the club,” an RFU statement said.
“As a result, the RFU, Premiership Rugby and the RPA [Rugby Players’ Association] is seeking to take action to obtain greater clarity on the future of London Irish.
“It is imperative that the club will be in a position to take its place in the Gallagher Premiership in season 2023/24, and to complete that season.
“If the club fails to meet these conditions [listed above] it will be suspended from participating in the Premiership (and other competitions) in season 2023/24 to avoid a scenario where the club enters insolvency mid-season, with the corresponding and substantial impact that has on players, staff, and fans, as well as on the remainder of the league.”
Before the statement, club sources were confident, however.
“No problems,” one player told this newspaper yesterday afternoon. “It’ll be done, I’m confident,” another added.
The vote of confidence from inside the club suggests that the Brentford-based outfit can brush off recent concerns surrounding delayed pay for players and staff.
At one point earlier this month the club were reportedly just minutes from having players file breach of contract letters.
When asked, London Irish said: “Discussions between the two parties [new consortium and current owner, Mick Crossan] continue.” The club did not choose to comment on the recent RFU statement.
Former NFL star Ray Lewis, a two-time Super Bowl winner, is involved with the takeover bid for the Premiership club who finished fifth in this year’s English domestic season. It is being fronted by sports agency Redstrike, whose managing director is former Premiership Rugby chief Howard Thomas.
Former NBA players Dikembe Mutombo, formerly of the 76ers, Allen Iverson, ex-NBA MVP, and American Basketball Association icon Julius Erving are also part of the consortium.
The club, who finished fifth in the Premiership this season, have an impressive mix of home grown English youngsters and star overseas talent, and ground share with Premier League team Brentford.
There have been discussions around the future home of the club, with Wimbledon AFC’s Plough Lane touted as a potential new home, but they look set to remain near Kew Bridge for the foreseeable future.