European rugby body shared out €31m

THE EUROPEAN Rugby Cup Limited, the governing body for the Heineken Cup and the Almin Challenge Cup, distributed more than €31 million to its member clubs in the 12-month period to the end of June 2009, accounts for the Irish-registered company show.

The governing body saw turnover increase to €37.1 million in the year ended June 2009, compared to €35.6 in the comparable period the previous year.

Although the company’s turnover derives mainly from sponsorship and television income, according to the financial statements, the April 2009 Heineken Cup semi- final between Leinster and Munster, which saw a record 82,200 crowd at Croke Park, Dublin, is likely to have boosted results.

According to the accounts, the ERC booked a pretax profit of €170,000 in the year after taking account of donations to member clubs and unions, compared to a loss of €170,000 for the previous year, bringing the company’s accumulated profits to €2 million.

The company is owned and controlled by the French, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, English and Italian representative unions and rugby clubs involved in the tournaments, each of which receive a percentage of ERC profits and a performance-based payment.

While the ERC does not disclose the exact figure paid to each member, latest accounts for the IRFU show that the Irish Rugby Union received €5.5 million in ERC and provincial income in the 12-month period to the end of April 2009.

Heineken extended its sponsorship deal with ERC in December 2008 until 2013.