Rugby: with a deficit of €40 million in two years, the FFR in financial difficulty

Axel May with AFP / Photo credit: DENIS CHARLET / AFP 19:32 p.m. on December 16, 2023

The French Rugby Federation announced on Saturday that it was suffering from an operating deficit of 40 million euros in two seasons, following a general and financial meeting held at the National Rugby Centre in Marcoussis. The examination of the FFR's accounts "highlights an extremely tense economic situation for the Federation, marked by an operating deficit of €16 million for the 2022-2023 season and a projected deficit of €24 million for the 2023-2024 season, i.e. €40 million of operating deficit in two seasons," the federation said in a statement.

A federation that "lives beyond its means"

The result of a federation that "lives beyond its means" and which suffers from "punctual considerations, such as the non-accessibility of the Stade de France" due to the preparation of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, explained to AFP the president of the FFR Florian Grill. "Every match not played at the Stade de France makes us lose two million euros of result," he added as the XV of France will play its three matches of the Six Nations Tournament at home in Marseille, Lille and Lyon.

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Added to this are losses from the GIE (economic interest grouping), the organisation that marketed hospitality during the 2023 World Cup and of which the FFR holds 55%, and "which will lose at least 13 million euros", Florian Grill pointed out. Apart from these one-off problems, "we have a deficit structure of around 15 million euros per year and we have to fill this abysmal hole," regretted the president of the FFR, who has been in office since June.

"A Cold Shower"

To do this, the federation will try to attract new partners and aim for "between 8 and 10 million euros in savings per year", particularly on the operation of the FFR. But these savings will not be to the detriment of the XV of France reassured Florian Grill: "We keep the absolute priority on the team of France because it is 80% of our resources. But we can be more moderate in the hotel industry, do internships in Marcoussis rather than outside, without distorting anything from the sporting performance."

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If this financial general meeting was "an essential truth operation" for the FFR, it is nevertheless "a cold shower". "When we arrived, we were told of an operating deficit of around €9 million for the 2023-2024 season. The reality is 24 million. And for last season, we weren't talking about €16 million." The clubs have taken the blow "but they have validated the budgetary landing which tells the truth of the accounts once we have lifted the carpet", declared Florian Grill while specifying that he would do everything not to "make the clubs pay for the financial mistakes of the federation".