Keighley Cougars leaders have issued a statement addressing the club's recent changes, financial pressures, and the personal abuse they have experienced while running the organisation.
Kaue and Ryan, who have led Keighley Cougars for seven years, said that poor on-field performance directly affects finances. When attendances drop and sponsorship becomes harder to secure, financial pressures increase across the club.
Budget Cuts and Sustainability
Over the past year, the club made what its leaders describe as "difficult but necessary decisions" to reshape operations into a sustainable model. This involved reducing expenditure and ensuring the budget matched the revenues the club generates. The leaders acknowledged this means spending at lower levels than in previous years when promotion remained a possibility.
They pointed to recent examples across rugby league to justify the approach. Salford, Halifax, Oldham, and North Wales have faced serious financial difficulties in the last two years. Other clubs have ceased operations entirely, including Featherstone, Cornwall, West Wales, and London Skolars. The leadership stated these examples reinforced their belief that sustainability must come first given uncertainty over the Championship's future.
Changes made by the RFL, specifically those making promotion "almost impossible," also influenced the club's strategic shift.
Seven Years of Achievements
The leaders highlighted achievements during their tenure, including saving the club, improving facilities, a "perfect campaign in 2022," supporting Ukrainian children facing war challenges, bringing football to Keighley, and organising a concert intended to raise the town's profile.
They also referenced their opposition to IMG involvement in rugby league, saying they were ridiculed at the time but believed subsequent events proved their stance correct.
Online Abuse and Criticism
However, the statement addressed what the leaders describe as an increasingly hostile social media environment. A minority has directed personal abuse at them daily across public forums and direct messages, the statement said.
Much criticism centres on the club's commitment to inclusion and support for the LGBT+ community. The leaders reported hearing accusations that they should "focus on rugby" rather than other initiatives, and suggestions that they are "not knowing what we are doing" because they are a gay couple supposedly with no rugby knowledge.