RFU losses fall to £2m after ‘year of progress amid challenges’

The Rugby Football Union reported its highest revenue in 10 years of £228m in its latest financial accounts, but returned to a small overall loss of around £2m.

This represents a significant improvement on the £42m loss in 2023-24, which sparked an uproar that threatened chief executive Bill Sweeney’s position.

Sweeney’s salary is £700,000, which includes a bonus, but not the Long Term Incentive Plan (LTIP), which proved controversial this time last year when he was paid £1.1m in total.

“This has been a year of progress amidst challenges,” Sweeney said.

“We’ve made real progress on and off the pitch, but we know parts of the game are still under real pressure.”

The latest accounts, covering the period from June 2024 to June 2025, are the first year of a four-year cycle, with the financial outlook improved significantly by seven home internationals in that period.

In contrast, part of the losses in 2023-24 can be attributed to higher preparation costs for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, coupled with just five matches at Twickenham.