Richmond Rugby has launched its #OneClub Crowdfunding campaign in response to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

Following the departure of Gallagher as the club's main sponsor after six years at the end of last season, coupled with the coronavirus outbreak, the club now finds itself without a main sponsor for the coming season and facing a significant financial shortfall.

Richmond Rugby chairman John Heaton said: "We are delighted to have the continued support of nearly 20 club partners for our return to the Men's Championship but, reluctantly, we now feel inclined to approach our membership and supporter base to help support a Crowdfunding initiative to raise additional funds for the good of the whole club.

"It has always been our stated desire to strive to be the best possible community rugby club and we hope that the support of the Richmond community will help us remain at the forefront of the grassroots game.

"This is essentially an initiative to support all sections of our club and help meet the sizeable costs of maintaining our facilities in these very challenging times, where our income has been severely impacted due to the loss of several home games at the end of last season and the inevitable loss of revenue from games in the coming season."

Richmond Rugby plays in the RFU Championship - the second tier of the professional game.

The 2020/21 Championship season looks set to be delayed until at least October or November, with the RFU set to confirm in the coming weeks. This delay will cause further disruptions for clubs, depriving them of their major source of income, match-day revenue.

Richmond is aiming to raise £30,000 and, at the time of writing, £7,975 has already been pledged by 99 supporters.

All funds raised will go directly towards the club and its ground costs, but as part of the campaign Richmond Rugby will also honour the NHS and Key Workers by displaying a simple message of thanks on the front of the Richmond Men's First XV shirts for the entire 2020/21 Championship season.

To support Richmond Rugby please visit their #OneClub crowdfunder campaign page here.

The club has also launched its #OneClub campaign video which can be viewed at the top of this page.

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