Amsterdam, October 6th 2014: HEINEKEN today announced that it will continue its support of European club rugby, through the Heineken® brand, by becoming a founding partner of the new European Rugby Champions Cup and the European Rugby Challenge Cup tournaments.
The partnership with the newly-constituted tournament organiser EPCR (European Professional Club Rugby) will extend through to the end of the 2017/18 season.
The new deal extends Heineken®'s rich rugby heritage into a new era of European professional club rugby, and builds on its unique position as the only brand consistently involved in European club rugby since its inception 20 years ago.
Widely considered as the pinnacle of world club rugby, the new tournament formats span the six nations of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy featuring elite clubs from the three leading leagues in Europe. It will also provide new opportunities for rugby nations such as Romania and Georgia to ultimately compete at the highest level of the club game. The new competitions will be watched and enjoyed by rugby fans all over the world with new television and digital distribution deals bringing the games into more than 100 countries.
Heineken® will give rugby fans the ultimate access to the matches by offering them the chance to partake in the Heineken® Back Stage Stadium Tour and to be present at the Heineken® Coin Toss alongside the referee and the two captains. In addition, the Heineken® Man of the Match will be presented after each game and Heineken® will also have extensive online and social media rights to bring engaging and exclusive content to fans of European club rugby everywhere.
Hans Erik Tuijt, Global Activation Director at HEINEKEN said: "We're proud to be part of a new era in European rugby. Innovation and evolution are part of our brand's DNA, so we see our support of the competitions as a natural progression. We look forward to again seeing the world's best players and clubs battle it out for European glory at the finals in London next May. Both competitions are the perfect platform for the brand to keep building on its proud rugby heritage."
EPCR Board Director and Executive Committee member, Paul McNaughton, said: "The launch of the inaugural European Rugby Champions Cup and European Rugby Challenge Cup marks the start of a new chapter in the illustrious 20-year history of European club rugby, and we're delighted that a prestigious international brand such as Heineken® will continue on this exciting journey alongside us. Building on the rich heritage of the past, both tournaments are set to attract over one million fans in their inaugural season alone and will continue to be the gold standard in professional club rugby."
Heineken® was title sponsor of the new competition's eponymous predecessor from its launch in 1995 until its final season in 2014. Over the Heineken Cup's 19 seasons it had become widely regarded as the world's premier club rugby tournament. Heineken® is also a sponsor of Rugby World Cup 2015, a relationship that has encompassed the '95, '03, '07 and '11 editions of the sport's biggest tournament.
Rugby fans will be able to enjoy Heineken® at all venues for both tournaments, and the brand will continue to offer fans, old and new alike, the opportunity to see these great matches live through ticket giveaways and competitions.
-ENDS-
Notes to editors
About Heineken®
The Heineken® brand, that bears the founder's family name - Heineken - is available in almost every country across the globe and is the world's most valuable international premium beer brand.
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Press Enquiries
Please direct all press enquiries through our press centre:
John Clarke, Heineken International
Tel: +31 (0) 20 5239 355 / pressoffice@heineken.com
Matt Crowhurst, Edelman PR
Tel: +44 (0)20 3047 4042 / matt.crowhurst@edelman.com
Photo Caption
Rugby captains of the PRO12 Clubs competing in this year's Rugby Champion's Cup tournament, sponsored by Heineken, at the launch in Dublin
Notes - EPCR Tournaments
- Both the European Rugby Champions Cup and the European Rugby Challenge Cup consist of five pools of four clubs with the five pool winners and the three best runners-up qualifying for the knockout stages.
- The competing clubs in both tournaments have qualified for the first time on merit from their respective domestic leagues - the Aviva Premiership, the Top 14 and the Guinness PRO12.
- A play-off series featuring clubs from Italy, Romania and Georgia provided the final two places in the European Rugby Challenge.
- EPCR's headquarters are situated in Neuchatel, Switzerland.
- The Board of EPCR is made up of the following directors: Rob Andrew (RFU), Philip Browne (IRFU), Bruce Craig (PRL), Mark Davies (RRW), Mark Dodson (SRU), René Fontes (LNR), Fabrizio Gaetaniello (FIR), Roger Lewis (WRU), Ian McLauchlan (SRU), Paul McNaughton (IRFU), Michel Palmié (FFR) and Andrea Rinaldo (FIR). The members of EPCR's Executive Committee are: Bruce Craig, René Fontes and Paul McNaughton, with Jacques Pineau as Director General.
- 2014/15 will be the 20th season of European club rugby.
EPCR Tournaments Pool stage weekends
Round 1: 16/17/18/19 October 2014
Round 2: 23/24/25/26 October 2014
Round 3: 4/5/6/7 December 2014
Round 4: 11/12/13/14 December 2014
Round 5: 15/16/17/18 January 2015
Round 6: 22/23/24/25 January 2015
Knockout stage weekends
Quarter-finals: 3/4/5 April 2015
Semi-finals: 17/18/19 April 2015
Finals: 1/2 May 2015
