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THE Australian Rugby Union are set to take over the running of the Western Force in a bid to resolve the Perth club’s long-running financial problems.
The Daily Telegraph understands negotiations are well advanced for the Force’s administrative business to be folded into the ARU within a month or two.
The Force football program will remain untouched and current CEO Mark Sinderberry will remain in charge of the club on the ground in Perth, but his role will resemble more of a general manager and he will begin to report to a senior executive in the ARU.
Though specifics are yet to be ironed out, some front office Force staff will also remain in Perth under the supervision of ARU managers in Sydney, while other roles will likely be rationalised into the duties of existing ARU staff.
The struggling Force are believed to be a willing participant in the radical move and talks between the club and the ARU have been ongoing since before Christmas.
ARU Bill Pulver is believed to be flying to Perth next week for a series of meetings, including with members the WA government.
The groundbreaking restructure has come off the back of a club-by-club financial analysis by consultants Accenture, which identified a future of ongoing financial woes for the Force under their current model and in a depressed WA economy.
Rugby WA - who run the Force - reported a loss of over $600,000 in 2014 and are set to report an even bigger deficit this year.
In what appeared to be bail out, the ARU paid the Force $800,000 for their intellectual property rights last month. But with the likelihood of further bail outs being needed, the ARU have clearly decided they want oversight of all financial matters.
It is understood the ARU has no intention to involve itself with Michael Foley’s football program but recruitment and footballing expenditure decisions will presumably now have to be signed off by head office.
The restructuring will no doubt stoke fears in the west about their club’s long-term survival, particularly with figures like former Force and Waratahs CEO Greg Harris calling for the Perth club to turn into a second franchise in Western Sydney.
But it is understood the western Sydney idea was recently raised at a meeting of ARU senior officials and the consensus remained firmly that Australian rugby was best served with a national footprint.
http://www.news.com.au/sport/australian-rugby-union-set-to-take-control-of-struggling-western-force/news-story/3721a4e3b52161564a3c7eacf691d4fa