Eight-year agreement deepens Qatar’s role in the sport ahead of inaugural Nations Championship next year
Qatar Airways agrees £80m sponsorship deal for rugby union’s Nations ChampionshipThe inaugural Nations Championship will take place next year in a joint venture run by the Six Nations and southern hemisphere Sanzaar unions, with assistance from World Rugby. The Six Nations teams will play three matches away and three at home against the Sanzaar nations and two others – expected to be Japan and Fiji – in July and November followed by a final series.
Qatar had wanted to stage the first four Nations Championship finals, but that proposal was rejected by the Irish and French unions due to uncertainty over attendances and concerns over the country’s human rights record. The heads-of-terms agreement is understood to give Qatar the option of staging the event again in either 2030 or 2032 however, if certain revenue targets are met.
Six Nations and Sanzaar are also continuing to hold talks with other commercial partners before confirming the Qatar Airways deal. The size of the deal will make it the biggest title sponsorship in world rugby, with each Nations Championship valued at around £20m, dwarfing the £12m sponsorship value of the Guinness Six Nations, which covers both men’s and women’s competitions.
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