The interest of all, says chief executive
of or subscription for equity, assignment, sale, transfer or otherwise, of any part, or if thought fit or arising through a series of transaction, all of the business, undertaking, assets or interests of the company comprised from time to time within its professional and performance rugby operations.
“This authority shall not extend to the disposal of the whole or any substantial part of the company’s heritable property at BT Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, notwithstanding its use to support professional and performance rugby activity.”
Naturally, the main focus for most of the Glasgow and Edinburgh players just now is the announcement of the Scotland squad for the Autumn Tests. Vern Cotter, now in his final season as national coach, will reveal his selection on Tuesday.
But while this represents the immediate future for the bulk of the Warriors and Edinburgh squads, Friday night’s Murrayfield meeting could well have a longer-lasting impact on their careers.
If the clubs give Dodson the green light to begin the search for external investment, and if that search is successful, the two professional teams could become far better equipped to meet the challenge of the best clubs, the richest clubs, in England and France.
Conversely, if such investment is not forthcoming, Glasgow and Edinburgh could remain also-rans in Europe, and may well find it harder to compete in the PRO12, should the Welsh and Irish teams prove more successful at attracting fresh sources of funding.
There is no guarantee that Dodson will succeed, and there are sound reasons why potential investors might doubt the wisdom of getting into bed with a governing body. For their part, the clubs who attend on Friday will have the right – some would say the duty – to seek reassurance on what precisely a deal between the governing body and new investors will look like, and how exactly it will work in practice.
Provided such reassurance is forthcoming, however, those clubs should give Dodson the chance by voting for the motion.
All other things being equal, the influx of new money into Scottish rugby can only be a good thing – and if the deal is handled in the right way, it could well be a boost to the game as a whole, not just to the professional team or teams who will be the initial beneficiaries.