GROUP 4 is in turmoil after one of its major sponsors, Wests Entertainment Group (WEG), withdrew all of its sponsorship as it seeks to distance itself from the troubled code following a grand final plagued with violence.
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The WEG board voted to pull out of the code and CEO Rod Laing said continuing to support senior rugby league would be tantamount to supporting violence in the community.
Effective immediately, WEG will no longer provide monetary or in-kind sponsorship for the 2017 season, for West Tamworth Lions Rugby League Football Club, Oxley Diggers RLFC, Group 4 Referees Association, Group 4 Rugby League and Wests Knockout Competition. Its commitments to junior league will remain.
Mr Laing said the board’s decision on Wednesday night had been long, difficult – and unanimous.
He said the board had received “numerous letters, emails and telephone calls from concerned club and community members voicing their disgust and embarrassment over the incidents that occurred during the recent Group 4 grand final.”
“[They’re] saying, ‘What you’re supporting is violence in our community, and we don’t support that’,” Mr Laing told The Leader.
The club had $65,000 earmarked for Wests Lions and $20,000 for Oxley Diggers, as well as in-kind support like the use of Scully Park and club facilities.
In “one of the longest board meetings for a long time”, the members discussed other options but all settled on the full withdrawal after years of incidents on and off the field, Mr Laing said. He said attendance at games had been declining, with reports of people reluctant to take their families because of a fear of “rowdy behaviour”.
“We don’t want to see a footy club or any business fall flat because of a loss of sponsorship, but it was almost like the last straw to break the camel’s back and it was time to act,” Mr Laing said.
“We’re not just making a decision based on a couple of Sundays ago at the grand final – it’s been ongoing for many years now.”
Group 4 Vice-President Ray McCoy said the code was “disappointed with their decision, based on the actions of a very small number of individuals, [but] the West Entertainment Group has made a business decision to protect their brand”.
- Local reaction p13
- Group 4 fall out p27-28