Not responsible to keep funding Reds - minister

Jersey Sport said the demise of the Jersey Reds was a "real loss"

Jersey's sports minister has said it would not have been financially responsible to keep funding the island's rugby club to prevent its collapse.

Championship title-holders Jersey Reds ceased trading last week due to funding issues.

Deputy Lucy Stephenson said continuing to provide government funding was not sustainable.

But Jersey Chamber of Commerce said the Reds brought a lot of value to the island.

'Very clear'

The government said it had provided the club with £575,000 of taxpayers' money between 2019 and 2022.

It said two short-term grants totalling £370,000 were also given in the past three months.

Ms Stephenson said the government had been "very clear" no further grants would be provided to the club which she said had been experiencing financial problems for a long time.

"The question of financial support did come up [with club directors] and I made my position very clear that there was no budget for further grant payments and it would not be my political priority to pursue that," Ms Stephenson added.

She said a study by a previous government valued the contribution of the Reds to the island's economy at £2.1m.

"If we're talking about putting hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money into it to get a return of £2.1m, you don't need to be particularly good at maths to see the return isn't as stark as some may be trying to make out," she added.

'Real loss'

However, Jersey Chamber of Commerce disagreed with Ms Stephenson.

Chief executive Murray Norton said: "Hotels, restaurants, the flight companies, hospitality, retail and more will be affected [by the collapse].

"The figure of £2.1m was actually in November 2018.

"Independent research since then does indicate it's nearer £5m.

"Whether you're a rugby fan or not, you have to look at this in the round in the economy."

Catriona McAllister, from Jersey Sport, said the demise of the club was a "real loss" for islanders.

“Having a professional sport to go along and support and having some of the top teams coming over from England as well, losing that from the island is a big loss," she said.

“Role models also play a big role in sport and having that professional platform and understanding that you can do sport as a job is important.

“And so it’s a bit of a miss to not have that on the island.”