The chairman of Lichfield RUFC says the club will need to “get creative” to help it overcome the financial challenges of coronavirus.
The club’s traditional income sources have dried up since the COVID-19 restrictions were implemented.
The season has been abandoned and functions held at the Cooke Fields HQ have also been axed.
Club chairman Paul Massey said that steps had already been taken to ensure the short-term future – but warned the longer term picture remained challenging.
“By both cutting costs and securing a number of grants and loans we have been able to keep the club solvent and with enough cash to see us through the summer period.
“As we still don’t know if or how any new rugby season will start, it’s virtually impossible to predict what will happen with the financial operations of the club when it does.
“We obviously expect that it will be difficult to raise the same amount of revenue – from either sponsors or social activities – that we had pre-coronavirus and we will certainly need to get creative to look for other ways to generate income.”
Paul Massey, Lichfield RUFC
On the pitch, the club are due to return to training in the coming weeks – although no confirmation has been received over the date a new season might start.
“We can now get started with some organised and structured training activities.
“These will commence for both the men and the ladies squads from 1st June.
“We will of course still be following all government and RFU guidelines on hygiene and social distancing, but it’s a small and very welcome step in the right direction to getting back to playing rugby.
“We now know the divisions the senior teams will be playing in and the fixtures we will have next season, we don’t yet have any dates for when those fixtures will start.”
Paul Massey, Lichfield RUFC
