South African Pro14 side Southern Kings' future is in doubt after their board suspended the team for the rest of 2020.

They will finish the coronavirus-disrupted 2019-20 season having played 13 of 14 scheduled games.

But Kings' chairman Andre Rademan said "hard, financial realities" meant their season could not continue.

He added: "We now have time to consider what is the best way forward for rugby in the Eastern Province in this fluid and financially challenging environment."

Rademan is part of a board brought in by SA Rugby in June to oversee an organisation that has struggled financially.

In a statement confirming the end of their season, Kings said they had "voluntarily withdrawn the team from participation in any planned domestic rugby competitions in 2020" following an urgent meeting on Monday,

Rademan said: "Following several weeks of interrogation of the Kings' financial state of affairs we were left with a straightforward choice.

"We could opt to field the Kings in the domestic competitions mooted by SA Rugby for the sport's post-lockdown resumption if we so wished.

"If we did so, it would require additional loans to the Kings or extra investment from the shareholders to the tune of R6.5m (£295,000), which would add to the organisation's existing substantial debt.

"However, as there was no contractual requirement for the Kings to resume short-term participation in the Guinness Pro14 competition, because of air travel restrictions, and as the Kings had no other commercial commitments to honour, the most prudent decision was to withdraw.

"This may not be a popular decision, but in the current circumstances it is the right decision."

Kings' board say shareholders SA Rugby and Eastern Province Rugby Union (EPRU) backed their move.

"This is obviously very disappointing news for the players and management who, like all rugby professionals, were desperate to resume playing," said Rademan.

"But the board believed that further investment in 2020 with zero commercial return would be reckless in the extreme."

Rademan said uncertainty over future cross-border and inter-hemisphere rugby competitions, along with uncertainty caused by the impact of Covid-19 on travel, would help determine Kings' long-term future.

He added: "As a board we had been considering further short-term contracts to see the squad through to the end of the year.

"But it became apparent that we would, for want a better phrase, be throwing good money after bad in the current global environment."