Why SARU can't rescue Cheetahs as they did WPRFU
NEWS: The Cheetahs will not have the benefit of banking on help from the South African Rugby Union to assist them with their current financial situation.
The Free State franchise reportedly owes the South African Revenue Service at least ZAR15 million, and according to Ross van Reenen, the Chief Executive at the Cheetahs, a repayment plan has been set up.
If the Cheetahs rely on SARU to assist them – as they did with the bankrupt Western Province Rugby Football Union – the news is not good.
Currently, SARU has no reserve funds, which is one of the reasons the entity is in advanced talks with the Ackerley Sports Group.
The Cheetahs are reportedly also negotiating an equity deal with an American group (Y11) and the Bloemfontein franchise would suffer if the equity deal is not concluded.
Y11 is a sports and media investment house involved with the Hurricanes and Welsh side Ospreys.
The Cheetahs also have an offer on the table from a local consortium of businesses in Bloemfontein who are willing to aid financially in return for representation on the Cheetahs board.
WPRFU was placed under administration by SARU in October 2021.
According to Rian Oberholzer, CEO of SA Rugby, the governing body always knew they would get their investment back.
“We always knew what Western Province was worth,” he said.
“We always knew that the money we put forward to assist them, will come back to us.
“Like it is happening now.
“We know what is happening with Western Province, we know that Western Province will be independent and carry on.
“It was an investment to save the game in the Western Cape, but it was not a difficult decision for us to take.
“Because we knew what the value of it was and we knew the money would come back,” Oberholzer revealed.
He concluded that the administration of Western Province should be concluded before the end of the year.
“We are comfortable that they have ticked all the boxes.
“We haven’t finalised a property deal yet but there is an interest, there is an agreement that the clubs did say to the administrator to carry forward and they are happy with it.
“There are a few processes that they must follow, they will be out of administration by the end of this year.”
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