Chairman's update

I hope that this finds all members of the Saracens family safe and well. It’s been a busy couple of weeks at Saracens and for rugby generally so we wanted to bring you up to speed with progress at the club and to outline what we can all expect in the weeks ahead. As you are aware, the club has had to make a number of tough but critical decisions over the past few months in response to the devasting financial impact of COVID-19. These have been important steps to protect the financial viability of the club for the future, but we know that further actions will be required as we move forwards and so this is why Saracens, along with all other Premiership clubs, voted unanimously to support the reduction of the salary cap from the 2021-22 season through until the end of the 2023-24 season.

It's been fantastic to see the players back using the clubs facilities to undertake their conditioning training in recent days and I think we are all excited about the prospect of watching the Saracens team take to the field again, hopefully in mid-August which is the target for the resumption of the 2019-20 Gallagher Premiership season. We know that you are all keen to understand how and where this will happen and so I can assure you that as soon as we receive this information we will share it with you. This will enable the club to confirm what credit is due to ticket purchases and hospitality clients if spectators are not able to attend any outstanding games due to COVID-19 measures.

In recent weeks we have shared some news on players leaving the club after this season, players confirming that they are staying with the club, players going on loan to other clubs for a season but staying with Saracens beyond the 2020-21 season, and some new players joining the club, and I can confirm that we will be sharing further player news in the days and weeks ahead. I am sure what this news will confirm to our supporters is that Saracens retains strong ambitions to be a successful club on the pitch. We are preparing for a tough challenge in the Championship next season, and we see other clubs building very competitive squads, but with a young squad built on the foundations of our outstanding Academy system, supported by some players with considerable Premiership and Championship experience, we hope to give ourselves a great chance of bouncing back up.

We are very conscious that our squad, and the club more broadly, will ultimately only be successful with your ongoing support. We can’t thank our supporters enough for the loyalty that they have demonstrated to date: all of us within the club aim to reward that loyalty by getting us through these current challenges and providing you with some fantastic rugby and memories in the near future.

Stay safe and well.

#TogetherSaracens

Neil Golding, Saracens Chairman