Irish Rugby Football Union reports loss of more than £15million in last year
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) made a loss of 18.4 million euros (£15.32million) in the year up to July 31 2024.
Costs involved in participating in the 2023 Rugby World Cup, which amounted to 12.1m euros (£10.07m), were largely responsible for the significant deficit.
That figure comprised the expense of preparing for and taking part in the tournament in France and the subsequent loss of revenue associated with not hosting Test matches in Dublin last autumn.
The IRFU said the overall deficit was 1.4m euros (£1.16m) less than forecasted.
IRFU chief financial officer Thelma O’Driscoll said: “While the deficit we are reporting today is certainly significant, it was anticipated and planned for; and our final result is in fact slightly ahead of what we had projected.
“We are aiming to make a small cash surplus in the current financial year.
“Nevertheless, there are significant challenges ahead and although we are not forecasting to be in debt at any time over the next 10 years, we must be prudent when it comes to our expenditure.
“Our focus as a union needs to be on generating new revenue streams and continually reviewing our cost base to ensure that we can continue to support the game at all levels throughout the island of Ireland.”
Income across the period was 79m euros (£65.77m), down from 92m euros (£76.59m) the previous year, a direct result of not hosting autumn matches at the Aviva Stadium in 2023.
Total investment in the women’s game was 8.3m euros (£6.9m), 2.6m euros (£2.16m) higher than the previous 12 months.
IRFU chief executive Kevin Potts said: “Taking part in a Rugby World Cup, the flagship event of our sport, is a huge honour, however it does have a significant, negative financial impact for unions which requires planning and management over a four-year cycle.
“Like all unions we are not immune to the financial and economic headwinds facing the game and we welcome World Rugby’s recent and ongoing work with high performance unions on the financial sustainability of the game.
“This is something we need to address in a collaborative manner, and we in the IRFU are committed to doing so.”