News
Club Statement | RFU Council Vote
Following the recent announcement of the implementation of England Rugby’s COVID Recovery Plan from the upcoming 2021/22 Championship season, the Bedford Blues’ Board of Directors would like to update our supporters.
We are obviously disappointed by what was being proposed and passed, but ultimately gave our support to what was recommended to the RFU Council, at the same time as expressing our concerns and reservations. We are especially concerned regarding the ongoing capping of central funding at such a significantly reduced level from the 2019/20 season.
This said, we are looking forward to the coming 2021/22 season positively and are supportive of certain areas contained within the recovery plan which we will focus on together with the rest of the Championship clubs in the next 12 months.
One thing is for certain, and that is there continues to remain a highly competitive Championship competition with a number of highly ambitious clubs, and we are pleased that the opportunity of promotion remains – notwithstanding the challenges that are faced.
At Goldington Road we are wholly focussed on our own provenly successful model and with ensuring the continued sustainability of our club as we eagerly await the return of crowds for the new season.
We strongly welcome the Strategic Review of the Championship that has been announced which is due to be carried out over the next six months. We will push hard for this to become a complete process which will yield something meaningful for our division, and through that for the other stakeholders in the game.
An opinion highlighted by many over the past year, and something we still vehemently believe, is that the Championship continues to be undervalued. However, the complexities contained within the recent announcement gives us the opportunity to focus on what the league should look like moving forward.
As supporters will have seen, we are making several player announcements at present and have more exciting additions to bring you. We are excited about next season and are delighted by the squad Mike and Alex are bringing together, where they are putting the resources available to them to the very best possible use. Combine this with the continued commitment and support of our Strategic Partnership with Northampton Saints, and we feel confident in our ability to compete and entertain in this season’s competition.
We await some final RFU detail regarding the fixture list before being able to launch Season Tickets in the imminent future and hope our supporters will once again be joining for the ride.
We will never get tired of saying it, but the support from the #BluesFamily in the last 18 months has been quite simply phenomenal and kept the Club going in times of hardship. You are the best supporters in the league and the envy of our fellow Championship members. We hope you continue to get behind us in the new campaign as we begin the next chapter in the club’s history.
Bedford Blues Board of Directors
