Clubs are invited to submit expressions of interest to host any of the Senior Men’s. Men’s U20s or Women’s County Championship matches (dates yet to be announced) and/or the KCRFU Finals Day Sunday 27 April 2025. This is an open and fair process, with clubs being selected against clear criteria (see below). 

Please submit your ‘Expression of Interest’ by email to HonSec@kent-rugby.org and office@kent-rugby.org by no later than 30 September 2024.

The clubs selected as hosts for County Championship matches will each act as the base for the respective representative team, so will host all home games.

Expressions of interest must evidence how each criterion is met.

1.     For Men’s Senior, Men’s U20s and Women’s representative matches, host clubs should, ideally, be Shepherd Neame customers. This is desirable for any club that hosts Finals Day, but is not essential, since we wish to ensure that as many clubs as possible that wish to express an interest in hosting and otherwise meet the criteria may do so and have a fair chance of being awarded host status.

2.     Host clubs must be fully in compliance with Safeguarding Regulations and must have completed and submitted the annual Safeguarding Audit. Clubs must also commit to carrying out a full risk assessment for any event that it hosts on the KCRFU’s behalf. While most teams will have their own First Aid provision, it is desirable that host clubs have their own First Aid arrangements in place.

4.     Clubs must also up to date with submission to the KCRFU of their financial statements for the financial year, using our online portal. https://financial-reporting.kent-rugby.org/.

5.     The applicant host club must declare if it has, within the previous 12 months from the date of application, been proven to be in breach of RFU Regulations, especially but not exclusively, Regs 15 & 21. The Executive Committee (in consultation with the Youth and Adult Discipline Committee Chairs, as necessary) has the discretion and acting in a reasonable and proportionate way, to allow a club to host an event, depending upon the nature and severity of any proven disciplinary offence.

6.     Host clubs must have:

a.  A sufficient number (depending upon the nature of the event) of well-maintained pitches. For Finals Day, clubs must be able to provide a minimum of THREE, fully marked out pitches. This is to allow matches to be played concurrently, pre-match warm-ups and in the event of player injury, to transfer the match to an adjacent pitch.

b.  Adequate changing room and toilet facilities, to accommodate match squads and match officials.

c.  Adequate parking for players, match officials and spectators

d.  Sufficient club volunteers to ensure that the matches are properly and safely marshalled, e.g. parking, spectators. 

e.  Ability to produce and oversee the sale of match / Finals Day programmes (these are produced by the KCRFU)

f.   Ability to provide post-match food for players and match officials, as well as facilities with sufficient staff / volunteers to sell food and drinks to others.

g.   Public liability insurance

7.     As requested by the KCRFU Director of Representative Rugby, and if required, the availability of the club to host training sessions in the lead-up to the representative match(es) being hosted.

Financial relationship between the KCRFU and host venue

The KCRFU does not charge clubs a fee for the right to host matches that are held on its behalf, because hosting them offers clubs the potential to accrue sometimes significant revenue, through bar and food, parking and programme sales. The KCRFU is, however, content for clubs to charge no more than £5 per car for parking / entrance to its matches. Should a host club charge a parking / entrance fee, then the CB should be grateful to receive a proportion of that revenue (exact split to be determined by mutual agreement) for the benefit of rugby County-wide.

Nigel Fray
Hon. Secretary & Director of Governance