Vodafone has announced a multi-year partnership with Scottish Rugby, to become a Principal Partner and back of shirt sponsor of the Men’s and Women’s teams.
The partnership – which includes both senior teams as well as the Pathway system – sees Scottish Rugby join Vodafone’s established portfolio of rugby partners, alongside the IRFU and the Welsh Rugby Union.
The company is the principal and front of short sponsor of the Irish Men’s team and a back of shirt partner of the Women’s team where Aon remains as the principal partner.
Vodafone also sponsors the Inter Provincial Championships here which draw to a close for 2024 on Saturday.
As part of the Scottish deal, Vodafone will also become a Principal Partner of Scottish Rugby’s Women’s Pathway, supporting the growth of the women’s game in Scotland by helping to develop a clear talent pipeline, including Vodafone Regional Training Centres.
Scotland Women and the women’s pathway teams will gain full access to Vodafone PLAYER.Connect, the landmark mobile-first platform that helps female athletes to understand the impact their menstrual cycle has on performance, wellbeing and recovery.
The Vodafone PLAYER.Connect platform is already used by a number of Vodafone’s partners.
The partnership will also see Vodafone harness the power of its reliable, award-winning network* and connectivity solutions to bring fans across the nation closer to the action. This has previously included the trial of its revolutionary 5G Fan App with the IRFU at Aviva Stadium and the Welsh Rugby Union at Principality Stadium.
The app uses augmented reality (AR) technology and Vodafone’s superfast 5G to enhance the fan experience by allowing users to track player stats and explore live elements of the game by simply holding their phones up to the pitch.
Vodafone will work with Scottish Rugby on similar solutions across both Hive Stadium and Scottish Gas Murrayfield.
Scotland Women will open the partnership by competing in the newly named Vodafone Series, which includes two Tests against Wales Women on Friday 6 September and Fijiana Women on Saturday 14 September. Both Wales and Fijiana are also sponsored by Vodafone, as part of its broader commitment to growing the women’s game.
“We’re really proud to be a new Principal Partner of Scottish Rugby’s Men’s and Women’s teams, who join our growing portfolio of partnerships with some of the UK’s most iconic teams and events,” said Rob Winterschladen, Consumer Director, Vodafone UK.
“We are committed to connecting our customers to the people, businesses and places that matter to them, whether it’s using the power of our 5G to elevate the experience for rugby fans or our landmark Vodafone PLAYER.Connect platform to assist the players. We’re hugely excited to be working with the Scotland teams and to be further supporting the growth of women’s rugby in the UK.”
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