Qatar Airways has agreed a deal worth up to £80m to become title sponsor of the new Nations Championship, a move which underlines rugby union’s determination to follow other sports in securing investment from the Middle -East.
It was revealed in October that Qatar had been chosen to host the second Nations Championship final series, in 2028, and the national airline has now come on board as title sponsor. The eight-year agreement will cover the qualifying matches and final series of the first four editions of the new competition, which will run from 2026 to 2034.
Related: England’s Feyi-Waboso faces dilemma over surgery in the name of Lions ambitions
Qatar Airways is entirely owned by the Qatari government which, as with the 2022 FIFA World Cup, is piloting the project. The airline has already announced a deal as title sponsor of the British and Irish Lions summer tour to Australia.
Qatar’s arrival in rugby is partly a recognition that its neighbor Saudi Arabia will dominate the football landscape for the next decade after winning the right to host the 2034 World Cup and concluding several sponsorship and broadcasting agreements with Fifa. Saudi money is also increasingly important in boxing, Formula 1, golf and tennis, but the Kingdom has not followed through on initial discussions about investing in rugby.
The inaugural Nations Championship will take place next year in a joint venture led by the southern hemisphere’s Six Nations and Sanzaar unions, with help from World Rugby. The Six Nations teams will play three away and three home matches against the Sanzaar nations and two others – likely Japan and Fiji – in July and November, followed by a finals series.
Under the proposed tournament structure, the sixth-placed European team after the six group matches will face its Southern Hemisphere equivalent, fifth-placed against fifth and so on, leading to a grand final to determine the Championship winners of Nations. All final series matches will be played in the same city, with Doha hosting all six playoff matches in 2028 after London hosts the first event next year.
Qatar wanted to host the first finals of the Four Nations Championship, but the proposal was rejected by Irish and French unions due to uncertainty over participation and concerns over the country’s human rights record. The deal is expected to give Qatar the option to host the event again in 2030 or 2032, if certain revenue targets are met.
The announcement of the hosting agreement was delayed by ongoing discussions between Six Nations and Sanzaar over revenue sharing and the allocation of prize money and appearance fees.
Six Nations and Sanzaar are also continuing discussions with other commercial partners before confirming the agreement with Qatar Airways. The scale of the deal will make it the largest title sponsorship in world rugby, with each Nations Championship valued at around £20m, eclipsing the £12m sponsorship value of the Guinness Six Nations, which covers both men’s and women’s competitions.
Obtaining a global brand is also seen as an important boost for the Nations Championship. In contrast, the Southern Hemisphere Rugby Championship does not have a global sponsor and is funded by several small regional agreements.
A Six Nations spokesperson said they do not engage in comment or speculation on commercial matters.