How much does it cost to run a rugby club on the Nile Special 7s Series?
The 2024 Nile Special 7s series is a cycle of running through savings and fundraising for teams, with transport, accommodation, meals, and medical supplies being the main expenditures. The post How much does it cost to run a rugby club on the Nile Special 7s Series? appeared first on Kawowo Sports.
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Sixteen men’s and six women’s teams participated in the opening round of the 2024 Nile Special 7s last weekend in Entebbe. This was the start of what will be a non-stop carnival touring Uganda’s Central, Eastern, Northern, and Western regions from August to October.
As exciting as rugby 7s may be, there are some for whom the series is a cycle of running through one’s savings and fundraising.
In this piece, Kawowo Sports paints the picture of the financial reality for a team on the 2024 Nile Special 7s series. We spoke to officials from four core teams who shared never-revealed-before details of their expenditure/income statements for the entire Entebbe 7s weekend. Three men’s teams were picked from the top, middle, and bottom of last year’s overall standings, and one women’s team from the middle.
To safeguard these officials’ positions and relationships within their respective clubs and the Uganda Rugby Union (URU) administration, their identities and clubs have been withheld on request of anonymity to contribute to this piece.
Although Entebbe can neither be described as a Central Region circuit nor as upcountry, it is the most optimum representation for this piece. The teams’ expenditure is mainly transport, accommodation, meals, and medical supplies.
Transport
Teams gathered and travelled from Kampala suburbs, across the Nile River in Jinja, and as far as the border district of Mbale. Some used coasters for their private transport while others used taxis that ply the Entebbe-Kampala Road route. Coasters were hired for the entire weekend while taxis were on a single-use basis.
Unit Cost for Hire (UGX) Number of Days Total Cost (UGX) Maximum 450,000 (coaster) 3 1,350,000 Minimum 328,000 (public transport) Single-use hire 328,000
The host teams and those based in Entebbe did not incur a general transport cost for this tournament. Some teams also gave their players and officials a transport refund.
Accommodation
All the teams, apart from those based in Entebbe, camped in Entebbe from Friday until Sunday. They checked into lodgings and hotels on Friday evening and checked out on Sunday morning.
Cost Per Room (UGX) Number of Rooms Number of Nights Total Cost (UGX) Maximum 65,000 17 2 2,210,000 Minimum 45,000 10 2 900,000
The difference in total cost for the teams is because some players had rooms to themselves while others shared with their teammates, which is not out of the ordinary for sporting events.
Meals
Teams had their breakfast at their residences early in the morning before leaving for the pitch. Dinner was served at night on returning. For some, the residences provided breakfast alongside the booking for accommodation.
Unit Cost (UGX) Number of People Number of Days Total Cost (UGX) Breakfast 5,000 16 2 160,000 Lunch* 10,000 16 2 320,000 Dinner 10,000 16 2 320,000
On gameday, players do not typically have lunch due to the continuous match schedule from morning to evening. Teams manage their nutrition by substituting with fruits whose total cost ranges from UGX 100,000 (minimum) to UGX 150,000 (maximum) for the two days.
Medical Supplies
Technical benches usually include a physiotherapist and/or team doctor or, for that can afford, both. The medical kit they use throughout the tournament is filled and equipped by the medical personnel depending on their club’s requirements.
A reasonably filled medical kit sets the clubs back by about UGX 580,000 for the two days. Some teams purchase the supplies directly through their medical personnel while others pick from their rugby club at a cost to the inventory.
In general, expenditure, without including emergency/miscellaneous expenditure, ranged between UGX 2,478,000 and UGX 5,220,000 for the Entebbe 7s circuit. It also does not include player allowances, bonuses or transport refunds which are typically paid as a lumpsome by the clubs monthly.
So how are the teams funded?
Teams are run and funded by/through brand sponsors, individual private owners, umbrella rugby clubs/franchises, academic institutions, and on a godfather model. Money for the Entebbe 7s circuit was obtained through these channels, earnings/savings from the XVs championship, and the URU/title sponsor subsidy.
The subsidy, usually for transport and/or accommodation, was UGX 1,365,000. This means the teams had to independently fund close to fifty per cent of their budgets for the weekend.
Club officials Kawowo Sports spoke to acknowledged that while the subsidy (for transport mainly) from URU is very much welcome, it is far from enough to support the clubs who barely scrape by.
Other income-generating opportunities included the prize money for winning the Cup Final. The men’s and women’s winners each got a UGX 1,000,000 cash prize.
As the series progresses, teams are expected to spend more money on more line items for more days when they hit the road to Mbale, Gulu, and Mbarara for other circuits.
The post How much does it cost to run a rugby club on the Nile Special 7s Series? appeared first on Kawowo Sports.
