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Breaking the Myths about Trailfinders Sports Ground

What we believe: The Professional Game Board audit should reward clubs like Ealing who operate within their means, rather than penalising them for not having speculative stadium expansion plans that would require taking on debt.

Q: Why does the RFU require a 10,001-seat stadium? Isn't that arbitrary?

A: The 10,001 capacity threshold is increasingly seen as arbitrary and outdated: Not all clubs draw huge crowds

• Several current Premiership clubs average attendances are below 10,000

• Sale Sharks averaged 7,200 in 2023-24

• Newcastle Falcons averaged 6,000 in 2024-25

• Gloucester averaged 9,800 in 2023-24

Quality over quantity: Ealing's 6,000-capacity ground has:

• Successfully hosted Premiership Cup matches against Harlequins, Saracens, Leicester, and Northampton

• Received praise from visiting supporters for atmosphere and facilities

• Broadcast-quality infrastructure (already hosts PWR matches with full TV coverage)

• Modern hospitality and corporate facilities

The bigger picture: The RFU's own criteria should prioritize:

• Financial sustainability (where Ealing is the ONLY debt-free club in the top two divisions)

• Sporting merit (3 Championships in 4 years, 15 wins from 15 this season)

• Community engagement (2,000 amateur members, 750 youth players)

Empty seats at 10,000+ capacity grounds don't help rugby. Full stadiums with passionate supporters at 6,000 capacity with potential to expand do.

Q: Why hasn't Ealing got planning permission to expand the stadium?

A: This is a catch-22 situation that needs political intervention:

The planning challenge:

• Ealing Council has recently refused planning applications for even minor improvements – including weather protection for an existing stand (October 2025)

• Without a clear commitment from the RFU that expansion would lead to promotion, investing millions in stadium development is financially irresponsible

• Rugby writers have regularly quoted "unnamed RFU sources" who have said repeatedly Ealing Trailfinders has 'no chance' of promotion, so why would the council approve major development?

Breaking the deadlock:

We're calling on Ealing Council to:

• Reverse the trend of planning refusals

• Recognize the economic benefit Premiership rugby would bring (estimated £5-10m annually)

• Follow Hounslow Borough Council's example with Brentford FC's promotion and move to a larger capacity (created £143m value over 3 years to 2023)

The bigger question: Should clubs be forced to build speculatively? Or should promotion be based on current merit and proven financial sustainability? We believe the latter makes more sense for the long-term health of rugby.

Q: The RFU says Ealing hasn't provided safety assurances. Is the ground unsafe?

A: Absolutely not. This claim doesn't stand up to scrutiny:

The evidence:

• Trailfinders Sports Club hosts Premiership Women's Rugby (PWR) matches – the top tier of women's rugby

• Successfully hosted Premiership Cup matches against top-tier clubs in 2023, 2024, and 2025

• These matches received praise from visiting supporters for safety, facilities, and atmosphere

• The ground is regularly inspected and licensed for its current capacity

The double standard:

If the ground is safe enough for:

• Premiership Women's Rugby

• Premiership Cup knockout matches

• 6,000 passionate supporters

...then why is it deemed 'unsafe' for Championship promotion? The safety standards don't change based on which competition is being played.

The real issue: This appears to be a bureaucratic barrier rather than a genuine safety concern. The ground meets all necessary safety standards for its current capacity – and has proven this repeatedly through hosting elite rugby.

Q: Why doesn't Ealing just ground-share with a bigger stadium like other clubs have done?

A: Ground-sharing sounds simple but creates significant problems: Why ground-sharing doesn't work for Ealing:

1. Loss of identity and community:

• Trailfinders Sports Club is in Ealing, serving Ealing's community

• The amateur club (Ealing Trailfinders 1871) has 2,000 members who use the facilities daily

• Moving would disconnect the professional team from its grassroots foundation

2. Limited suitable options:

• Brentford's Gtech Community Stadium (17,250): Hosted London Irish who unfortunately went into liquidation with significant debts beleived to be partly caused by rent and limited matchday revenue

• Twickenham Stoop (14,800): Home to Harlequins – a direct competitor

• These venues have fixture clashes and would charge significant rental fees

3. Financial unsustainability:

• Ground rental costs would undermine Ealing's zero-debt financial model

• Loss of matchday revenue from hospitality, catering, and facilities

• The very financial sustainability the RFU claims to require would be compromised

The principle: Ground-sharing should be a temporary solution, not a permanent requirement. Ealing has invested £50 million over 20 years building a multi-sport community facility. Forcing clubs to abandon their homes to tick a capacity box undermines long-term community rugby development.

Q: The RFU says Ealing hasn't proven financial sustainability. Is the club at risk?

A: This is perhaps the most untrue criticism. Ealing Trailfinders is the MOST financially sustainable club in English rugby Top two divisions of 24 clubs:

The facts:

• Zero debt – the only club in the Championship or Premiership without debt

• No history of financial crisis, administration, or unpaid wages

• Consistent investment in facilities, staff, and community programmes over 20 years

Compare this to recent Premiership collapses:

• Worcester Warriors: £25 million debt, entered administration 2022

• Wasps: £95 million debt, entered administration 2022

• London Irish: £30 million debt, entered administration 2023

• Newcastle Falcons: Narrowly avoided administration in 2025

The irony: The RFU is blocking the only debt-free club from joining a league where financial collapse has become routine. If Ealing isn't financially sustainable, then no club in English rugby is.

Q: So what's the real reason Ealing keeps getting rejected?

A: We believe the RFU's criteria have created an impossible catch-22 that prioritizes potential over proven performance: The catch-22:

• Can't get promoted without a 10,001-capacity stadium

• Can't justify building a 10,001-capacity stadium without guarantee of promotion

• Can't get planning permission without showing need for larger stadium

• Can't show need when the RFU says you have 'no chance' of promotion

What should matter:

✓ Sporting merit: 3 Championships in 4 years, unbeaten this season

✓ Financial sustainability: Zero debt

✓ Community impact: 2,000 amateur members, 750 youth players

✓ Quality facilities: Broadcast-ready, successfully hosts PWR and Prem Cup

✓ RFU Plan 2030 alignment: Tick every box for Play, Perform, Follow, Fund

The solution: Reform the minimum standards to prioritize what actually makes rugby successful – merit on the pitch, financial responsibility, and genuine community engagement – rather than arbitrary infrastructure thresholds that have created a glass ceiling preventing the Championship's best club from progressing.

Our Message to the RFU and Men’s Professional Rugby Board (MPRB)

Press Release 9th Feb 2026

Ealing Trailfinders Supporters Association Launches Campaign to End "Glass Ceiling" in English Rugby

Ealing Trailfinders Fans Lobby for Promotion today officially launched its "Champ2Prem - Let Ealing IN" campaign, calling on the RFU and MPRB to modernize the Minimum Standards Criteria and allow the Championship’s most dominant force to take its rightful place in the Premiership.

With three league titles in four years and an unbeaten record this season, Ealing Trailfinders have proven their excellence on the pitch. However, unnamed sources in the RFU continue to brief against the club’s facilities—assertions the fans say are demonstrably false.

"The unfairness of the situation should be better known - the RFU and the Prem board don't think Ealing fans care or should be ignored, and so the fans are speaking up," said Adrian Mooney from the lobby

"We have the talent, the funding, and the facilities. It is time the Prem Board remembers their own roots 35 years ago when a national rugby league system attracted moderate crowds and ground like The Stoop were just fields. We urge you to prioritise sporting merit over unjustifiable stadium quotas that even the FA Premier League with its huge attendances don't accept."

Why the RFU and Men’s Professional Rugby Board (MPRB)?

The Men’s Professional Rugby Board (MPRB)—which replaced the previous Professional Game Board (PGB)—oversees the professional game in England, including the Minimum Standards Criteria (MSC) inspections for promotion.

The board is responsible for setting, reviewing, and overseeing audits of the MSC for clubs seeking promotion to the Premiership. These standards cover legal obligations, playing facilities (including a flexible approach to the 10,000+ capacity rule), and governance. The board reviews independent audits of clubs to determine their eligibility for the top tier, and the RFU Board ratifies their recommendations.

Who Sits on the Men’s Professional Rugby Board?

• Independent Chair, Mike McTighe, and Independent Non-Executive Directors Rachel Baillache and Ged Roddy MBE.

• Representatives from the RFU include Wayne Barnes, Bill Sweeney, and Conor O'Shea.

• Premiership Rugby is represented by Simon Massie-Taylor, Nigel Melville, and Chris Booy.

• Christian Day is a voting member representing the RPA, while Judith Batchelar is an observer.

The Ealing Trailfinders Family

We represent fans of Ealing Trailfinders RFC who are passionate about the Club and promotion to the Prem

The team has been the dominant force in the Champ for the past 4 seasons - winning it 3 times and unbeaten so far in 2025/26.

The RFU have minimum standards that it requires grounds to meet to be considered for promotion to the Prem, which we feel are unjustifiable. In football - FA Premier League stadium requirements state that any club that plays in the Premier League must have a stadium with a minimum capacity of 6,000, with 2,000 seats

MEN

Fans United

MPs Back

WOMEN

Ealing Trailfinders 1871: AMATEURS, YOUTH & MINIS

ACADEMY

Our Ground: Trailfinders Sports Club

Charitable Foundation

Wears That Hat

Supporters Assoc.

Who We Are?

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Photo Credits

Photos courtesy Ardmawr Photography

Please credit Ardmawr Photography and link back to their site when using any photos.