Recent fears over the restructuring of HSBC and the impact that might have on its commitment to sports sponsorship have been laid firmly to rest with news of a major new deal involving the World Rugby Sevens Series.
Ready to expand off the platform of inclusion in the 2016 Rio Olympics the sport is making all the right moves to secure a permanent place in the global sporting calendar.
The new sponsorship deal is an extension of HSBC’s involvement. It will take naming rights to the Men’s and the Women’s World Series as well as local naming rights at nine of the expanded ten venues for the Men’s World Series which starts in December of this year and runs through to London in May of 2016.
Dates and locations for the Women’s series will be announced shortly. Dublin will host it’s first major tournament in August of this year when the Irish team will have a home opportunity to qualify for the Series.
“Rugby sevens is going from strength to strength ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and the men’s and women’s series have been at the heart of the global sevens success story with their winning brand of high-octane, competitive and broadcast- friendly action, global locations and festival atmosphere,” said World Rugby Chairman Bernard Lapasset.
“HSBC has been central to the sevens success story and is totally aligned with our mission to attract and inspire new players and audiences. We are excited about this increased commitment and the certainty it provides over the next four years to grow our sport within existing and emerging rugby markets.”
“We are particularly delighted that our flagship women’s series will be supported by HSBC over the next few years. Women’s rugby is one of the world’s fastest-growing team sports, with more than 1.5 million regularly playing and new participants being welcomed every day. The feats of our best female players on the series have been a source of inspiration to young players and the driving force behind ever-increasing popularity and profile.”
HSBC have been involved as sponsors since becoming the first commercial partner of the sport in 2009 and this new four year deal is a substantial stepping up of investment and commitment
“The Olympic decision has served as a tremendous catalyst for the growth of sevens around the world, not just in participation but also through the popularity of the HSBC Sevens World Series in recent years,” said Giles Morgan, Head of Global Sponsorship at HSBC.
“HSBC is committed to supporting not only the elite end of the sport during this historic period in the game’s growth but will also continue with our long-term, significant investment in helping to grow and develop rugby through our community programmes which have seen more than 200,000 youngsters around the world introduced to the sport.”
“HSBC rugby festivals and coach education programmes, as well as grassroots sponsorships such as the Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens in England, have all helped to inspire even more children to get involved with rugby.
“We will continue to use the profile and interest in the world series to help engage even more youngsters to the game over the coming years, and are excited by the addition of the women’s series to our portfolio given the interest that women’s rugby is attracting around the world.”
542,929 attended events in the series last year and the USA claimed their first tournament victory when winning in London in May.
The team will have an opportunity to repeat that on home soil in Las Vegas in March 2016 with other events taking place in Dubai, Cape Town, Wellington, Sydney, Vancouver, Hong Kong, Singapore, Paris and London.
“Rugby sevens is experiencing record attendance, broadcast and commercial growth and is rapidly becoming a major driver of revenue for World Rugby to reinvest in the game,” said World Rugby CEO Brett Gosper.
“This schedule represents an exciting combination for World Rugby and one which we think will enable the sport to reach developing rugby markets, and therefore contribute to the continued growth of the game and its character-building values worldwide.”
