Hong Kong Rugby Union axes staff as Sevens in October remains a question mark
- HKRU chief executive Robbie McRobbie says it is facing a number of underlying financial challenges
- A cancelled Hong Kong Sevens in October would have a ‘major impact’, but wouldn’t be a death knell for the organisation
As the world remains on its knees because of the coronavirus, the Hong Kong Rugby Union finds itself in the same financial situation countless companies and organisations are facing.
HKRU chief executive officer Robbie McRobbie said 12 staff members have been let go out of 116 full-time employees, and wide-sweeping financial discussions are still taking place across the organisation to reduce costs and increase revenue during the global pandemic.
McRobbie said this is part of a larger issue the entire sporting world is facing, as leagues are dealing with decreased ticket sales and declining advertising revenue. A new commercial structure with World Rugby concerning the Hong Kong Sevens, done in four-year cycles, also dented the HKRU’s bottom line, McRobbie said.
“It won’t come as a great surprise to learn that the Covid-19 situation has been an accelerant,” McRobbie said. “I suppose a catalyst, you might say, it’s exacerbated those revenue challenges. The rescheduling of the Sevens obviously kicked in a short-term cash flow issue, but it is still those underlying revenue trends which we’ve had to address.”
McRobbie said he has spoken to a number of rugby unions and they are all in the same boat in trying to right their ships financially.
