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| Deal for European Rugby Champions Cup could raise turnover by 70% | Deal for European Rugby Champions Cup could raise turnover by 70% |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Mark McCafferty, chief executive of Premiership Rugby, believes that turnover could be increased by up to 70% next season in the wake of the European Rugby Champions Cup agreement. "It has been a long road, but the hard work starts now and we have a heck of a lot to do," he said. | Mark McCafferty, chief executive of Premiership Rugby, believes that turnover could be increased by up to 70% next season in the wake of the European Rugby Champions Cup agreement. "It has been a long road, but the hard work starts now and we have a heck of a lot to do," he said. |
| BT Sport and Sky have agreed a deal for the British rights, which will be confirmed when Sky is formally released from its existing contract with the Heineken Cup organisers, European Rugby Cup Ltd, and an agreement for the television rights in France is close to being signed. That is expected to raise the value of the tournament's international rights. There will be no title sponsor of either the Champions Cup or the Challenge Cup but the aim will be to sign up four-to-six global business partners and the commercial side will be spearheaded by an executive committee, whose three voting members will be drawn from the three leagues involved: the Aviva Premiership, France's Top 14 and the RaboDirect Pro12. | BT Sport and Sky have agreed a deal for the British rights, which will be confirmed when Sky is formally released from its existing contract with the Heineken Cup organisers, European Rugby Cup Ltd, and an agreement for the television rights in France is close to being signed. That is expected to raise the value of the tournament's international rights. There will be no title sponsor of either the Champions Cup or the Challenge Cup but the aim will be to sign up four-to-six global business partners and the commercial side will be spearheaded by an executive committee, whose three voting members will be drawn from the three leagues involved: the Aviva Premiership, France's Top 14 and the RaboDirect Pro12. |
| The Bath owner, Bruce Craig, will be the Premiership's representative, René Fontès, the former president of Clermont Auvergne, has been nominated by the French clubs, while the former Ireland international and team manager Paul McNaughton, who has been involved in finance for 25 years, has been put forward by the Pro 12. | |
| They will be joined on the executive committee by an independent chairman and a director-general, who will be based in Switzerland. Because so much has to be done in a short time and recruitment consultants still have to be appointed, the former position may initially be made on an interim basis. | They will be joined on the executive committee by an independent chairman and a director-general, who will be based in Switzerland. Because so much has to be done in a short time and recruitment consultants still have to be appointed, the former position may initially be made on an interim basis. |
| The decisions made by the executive committee will have to be ratified by a board of directors, whose 18 votes will be split equally between the six unions involved and the French and English clubs and the Welsh regions. The chairman will have a casting vote. | The decisions made by the executive committee will have to be ratified by a board of directors, whose 18 votes will be split equally between the six unions involved and the French and English clubs and the Welsh regions. The chairman will have a casting vote. |
| "It is important that everyone works together because it is in the interests of everyone to maximise the potential of the tournament," said McCafferty. "One of the roles of the chairman and the director-general will be to build relationships and trust between the stakeholders. No one has got everything they wanted but the agreement is a fair one and we all have to make it work." | "It is important that everyone works together because it is in the interests of everyone to maximise the potential of the tournament," said McCafferty. "One of the roles of the chairman and the director-general will be to build relationships and trust between the stakeholders. No one has got everything they wanted but the agreement is a fair one and we all have to make it work." |
| All the stakeholders have signed up for at least six years, after which they will be able to serve two years' notice. The agreement is evergreen, meaning it will not have to be renegotiated, which should mean an end to the disputes that followed the end of the three Heineken Cup accords. | All the stakeholders have signed up for at least six years, after which they will be able to serve two years' notice. The agreement is evergreen, meaning it will not have to be renegotiated, which should mean an end to the disputes that followed the end of the three Heineken Cup accords. |
| "Rugby union is not 20 years old as a professional sport and it will continue to evolve," said McCafferty. "It may be, in 10 years or so, that teams from developing countries in Europe are pushing for inclusion and the key is to have the flexibility to react to change. Up to now, it has taken a crisis to bring about reform, and not just in Europe, and I hope this agreement means those days are behind us. We have the opportunity to make a real difference." | "Rugby union is not 20 years old as a professional sport and it will continue to evolve," said McCafferty. "It may be, in 10 years or so, that teams from developing countries in Europe are pushing for inclusion and the key is to have the flexibility to react to change. Up to now, it has taken a crisis to bring about reform, and not just in Europe, and I hope this agreement means those days are behind us. We have the opportunity to make a real difference." |
| The agreement was finally signed at a meeting of the stakeholders at Heathrow on Thursday, more than two weeks after it was drawn up. The pools for the Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup will be announced in June and the seeding system adopted by ERC, which reflected clubs' records in Europe over four years, will be jettisoned, with groups based on league form. The English, French and Pro 12 champions will be kept apart, and the same will apply to the runners-up and third-placed teams. | The agreement was finally signed at a meeting of the stakeholders at Heathrow on Thursday, more than two weeks after it was drawn up. The pools for the Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup will be announced in June and the seeding system adopted by ERC, which reflected clubs' records in Europe over four years, will be jettisoned, with groups based on league form. The English, French and Pro 12 champions will be kept apart, and the same will apply to the runners-up and third-placed teams. |
| The aim is to have broadly equal groups and the first task for the governing body will be to organise the play-off for the final place in next season's Champions Cup between the teams that finish seventh in the Premiership and Top 14. It will be a two-legged affair if neither team is involved in a European final but a one-off game otherwise, with home advantage decided on the toss of a coin. |