England Rugby Football Union Opposes Qatar As Nations Championship Venue
By Priscilla Jepchumba
RFU CEO Bill Sweeney has stated that London would be a better option than Qatar as the natural destination for the start of the finals of the new Nations Championship in international rugby.
He has clarified the reasons for turning down Qatar as the host for the first finals of the new Nations Championship in international rugby.
Sweeney stated that the decision to opt for London over Qatar was confirmed in Paris last October, just before the Rugby World Cup final between South Africa and New Zealand.
World Rugby announced the introduction of the biennial Nations Championship, set to debut in 2026. Last June, reports suggested that Qatar was close to securing an eight-year deal to host the finals series, but negotiations fell through.
Sweeney has now shed light on the situation from the perspective of the English RFU. When asked about the current status of the new tournament, Sweeney provided an update.
“It was well-known about the unsolicited bid that came in from Qatar quite a long time ago and both Six Nations and SANZAAR took a long time to evaluate it. There were certain aspects that we were concerned with, or not entirely happy with.”
“A lot of it was around the inaugural finals weekend for a tournament that we think has got huge potential to grow value and grow fan interest going forward, then perhaps it should be in a more accessible environment and maybe in an area with an established rugby market. So that was a conversation,” said Sweeney.
“It doesn’t preclude going to another foreign destination at another period in time, whether it is ’28, or we talked about the US in ’30, one year before the World Cup in ’31. So the decisions were all taken for the right reasons but there is still a commitment there with Nations Cup. Most of the SANZAAR unions are up here this week, so there are a series of meetings taking place there, and we will continue that around the Nations Cup.”
Sweeney also stated that the emergence of Qatar's bid as a potential partner, which had been considered an excess for a long time, had some issues.
About Twickenham hosting the finals, Sweeney noted that a London venue could be an option with the likelihood of having three matches taking place at the arena.
“That would be a natural destination and conversations are happening and have been ongoing since the Qatar decision to do that. There are other possibilities of other European venues, but London is a strong possibility.”
“Is the clock ticking on a deal being concluded sooner rather than later? “Yeah, we want to be able to go to market by the end of the year, no later than the end of first quarter next year. So it’s important we get this. It has been in conversation a long time, so it’s important we get it concluded.”
JUDY ROTICH