Bill Sweeney could be ousted as Rugby Football Union chief executive this evening when member clubs vote on his future.
Sweeney has been fighting for his future since the RFU’s latest accounts revealed he received a £1.1m pay package – including a £300,000 bonus – for the 2023 financial year despite the union making losses of over £30m and the game below the Premiership being in dire need of support.
The fiasco led to chairman Tom Ilube resigning from his post and being replaced with former World Rugby chair Sir Bill Beaumont on an interim basis. The Rugby Football Union are currently shortlisting candidates to replace Ilube through an external recruitment company.
But Beaumont this week issued a rallying cry to the government game, asking them to back Sweeney to enact change to the game.
It is understood that there is a group of clubs, each in their hundreds, on either side of the debate with the rest not entirely decided. Voting opened two weeks ago remotely.
‘Back Sweeney’
“On Thursday night,” Beaumont penned. “RFU Members – amateur and professional clubs, constituent bodies and referee societies – will have a chance to vote on two important motions facing the game.
“The first intends to express no confidence in our CEO, and the second, which we have put forward, intends to expedite governance reforms which will help devolve more decision-making power to members so they can determine what is right in their local area.
“The first motion arose because a number of members clearly felt frustrated by the challenges they are seeing around the game and because they believed that forcing our CEO out would help change that.
“While I do not doubt their concern – and we have heard some of the same issues loud and clear travelling the country to meet hundreds of members in recent weeks – a vote of no confidence in our CEO will not change this for the better.”
Sweeney has been in place since 1 May 2019 and has defended his bonus, stating his long-term incentive plan (LTIP) was part of his contract following the Covid-19 pandemic.
He further said that the RFU always expects to make less money in World Cup years due to the lack of Autumn International fixtures at Twickenham.
The fiasco comes as the community and semi-pro game struggles, with the Championship seeing their funding cut over the last cycle.
