So how much does playing rugby actually cost?

...and why you're getting a really good deal from match day subs

Chatting to some of you in the bar and at training, the club's committee members often hear you say you don't understand why we charge what we do for playing at Millwall.

And we still find people who are are happy to play for us or enjoy our clubhouse, but are less happy about paying subs or a fee to become a member and support the club financially.

So, the committee sat down and worked out exactly what it costs these days to put a team out to play at the weekend, so you can judge for yourself whether or not your match subs are good value for money.

Here's a rough idea of what we have to spend to put just one team out at a weekend:

And if you keep hold of your balls, don't steal our shirts and make sure you put our equipment away carefully, you could probably help us spend a little less.

So... value for money then?

If you consider that match subs are just £10 for men, £7.50 for Venus, £2.50 for students/unwaged and £3 for youth, we think you're getting rather a good deal.  We are committed to doing all we can to keep subs as low as possible so no one is prevented from playing for Millwall on grounds of cost.

How can you help?

We rely upon you to support our social events and clubhouse bar... and on social memberships from our supporters.  Also, the more players who say they are available each week and the more teams we put out for friendlies etc, the better the savings on those fixed costs.

We also depend upon your generous donations and fundraising adventures, especially those of you who take the time to apply for funding for the club.  You'll be amazed how much funding is out there for the taking - it just needs people with the time and energies to apply for it and research what's available.

We also need you ALL to recruit players and social members.  Talk to your colleagues. Make a poster for your office noticeboard, place a free ad on Gumtree, advertise on Facebook, list us in local sports directories etc.  Please don't wait to be asked, or for someone else to organise a recruitment event.

It goes without saying we also need you to volunteer (to coach, clean the clubhouse/portakabin, work on our bar, do club administration tasks) ... the more of this you do, the less we have to pay others to do.  If you think you can help in some way, do get in touch with one of the management committee members.

What the future holds

We are confident Millwall Rugby Club has many great years ahead of it, even if things are proving somewhat tough on the pitch this season.

The management committee may at times look like it neglects certain things.  But that is more often than not because it is working really hard to get teams out to play and to fend off major new expenses that threaten the club and threaten to set a precedent for future committees to deal with.

Examples of these are

• a potential £10,000 annual ground rent bill from the council for our clubhouse (still being fought)
• annual business rates of up to £5,000 for which someone has to apply for a exemption to every year
• unexpected electricity costs
• £22,000 water bills (recently negotiated down to £800!)
• potential liabilities if we don't incorporate the club (as a limited company and CASC, as the RFU recommends)

Thanks for reading.

Regards

Andrew
Club Secretary