THE UNITED RUGBY Championship [URC] has indicated its willingness to bring games to Qatar in the future.
The plans will potentially start with pre-season matches and training camps but could develop into bigger fixtures being hosted in Qatar down the line.
The URC has signed a new three-year sponsorship deal with the state-owned Qatar Airways and will now look at options for taking rugby to the Middle Eastern nation.
Qatar will host this year’s football World Cup and has been working hard to bring more international sport to the country. The URC’s new deal with Qatar Airways should help with travel to and from South Africa as part of the championship, but it is likely to also be the first step in a much broader partnership involving clubs training and potentially playing in Qatar.
Martin Anayi, the URC’s chief executive, said that there are no immediate plans to bring actual URC fixtures to Qatar but competition organisers will begin exploring other options.
“I think it’s a process actually, and I know that sounds super corny,” said Anayi at the URC launch in London today.
“Our championship games and Champions Cup games are so important to our clubs and the fans of those clubs. To take any of those games away from a home crowd is really difficult.
“We’ve had this conversation around do you take games to the US, which is slightly less challenging logistically or from a conceptual point of view as there have already been games in the US.
“It’s going to be really hard to take a championship game to Qatar but can you take baby steps?
“Can we have winter training camps like football have in Qatar? Can you take pre-season matches to the air-conditioned stadiums and take full advantage of the legacy they want to achieve there? Can you set up new competitions? Can you help Qatar rugby?”
Qatar has faced international criticism for its treatment of migrant workers who have helped to build stadia for the football World Cup, while Amnesty International has also raised major concerns about women’s rights, LGBTI people’s rights, and freedom of expression in Qatar.
Anayi was asked how hard the URC had to think about its new agreement with Qatar Airways in light of those issues.
“Our view around these issues, obviously we ask the right questions and try to be as positive as possible,” said Anayi.
“Qatar Airways was voted the world’s best airline, it means a lot to a lot of people. All through Covid, it has become an airline which they grew from four planes to 300 aircraft. It’s about growth, it’s not just about being in the Middle East, it’s worldwide. It ties with our own ambitions of being global and having an appeal. It’s a premium carrier and we want to be more premium.
“At the same time, what they can take from a partnership with a rugby competition is that we stand for great values and stand for championing those values. They are about legacy post-FIFA World Cup in December. What do they do after that and can rugby and its values be part of that conversation going forward? Rugby has never been that in Qatar and the Middle East.
“I think rugby is a really positive voice in that conversation. I lived in the Middle East for my whole childhood, my dad is an Arab, he’s from Iraq. I understand that the cultures are different. My mum’s Irish, so I understand they’re very different.
“I think rugby and Western values around rugby especially are more pertinent than ever in the Middle East. And they are open to having those conversations around progress. Sport is a big part of that conversation of how they progress, how they’re seen to be progressive, and I hope we can be part of that.”
Meanwhile, Anayi said the URC doesn’t expect the Emerging Ireland tour to South Africa later this month to have any great impact on the league competition.
Ireland will bring a squad of over 30 fringe and young players on a three-game tour, clashing with several rounds of the URC. The IRFU has indicated that its frontline Ireland internationals will be available for URC games during the game period.
Anayi said he understands why the IRFU has arranged the tour and indicated that the URC needs to bring in a cup competition to help with the development of young players.
“We’ve looked at that because there’s actually a good rationale for them doing that tour,” said Anayi.
“What’s been explained to me is that it’s not the international players or first-rankers, it’s the next crop. The fear was because in those [URC] matches the first rankers are going to be playing that perhaps this group that’s going on tour wouldn’t get enough game time and that was a concern to the IRFU.
“I understand that because part of what URC was about was trying to make games of a higher quality. We always talked about having a cup competition which would be perfect for that rationale of bringing players through and giving them game time.
“We weren’t able to bring that to fruition this year. If we had put the cup competition on, they wouldn’t have had a need to go and do this tour. Because we didn’t, they’re going and doing this tour.
“Does that impact the URC? Hopefully not because the first-ranked players are playing in the URC games. That’s what the URC is all about.”
Not impressed with a Qatar link up. Retrograde move given the track record with World Cup and recent sportswashing controversies.
@Andy Heffernan: they don’t give a sh!te about those minor considerations…. follow the money.
What a bizarre move? Has dollar signs written all over it. Better thing to do, would have been to bring games to countries like spain and portugal, which are getting better at rugby and have some local interest.
As has been pointed out by some on twitter. Nick McCarthy couldn’t even travel to Qatar with Leinster without fear of being imprisoned. Would be nice to see other players/teams boycott any trips to Qatar but as usual money talks
@COYBIG: good point.
@COYBIG: Can you please remind everyone on the circumstances surrounding Nick McCarthy not travelling on that occasion. TY.
I hope the URC get the same hiding from the media that the LIV golfers got. Highly unlikely and this is a direct result of the CVC investment – it’s all about the money now – screw the players, screw the supporters, line the pockets of the investment fund.
@Reggie: it’s also remarkable poor timing. Most of the world are in the midst of an energy crisis and he’s talking about flying squad’s to the middle East for training camps??? Wyf, air conditioning stadiums for what 1000 expats to watch boys building tackle bags and drills??
No. Not ok. Qatar is a fundamentally vile country, built on the back of near to slave labour. For all the people who say that sport helps bring values, etc., to these countries, what totalitarian country has actually been reformed because it got the opportunity to host sports events? Qatar has no rugby heritage, only money.
I have followed Rugby all my life and this is a retrograde decision. If it goes ahead I’m out of the URC !
@Con Cussed: Same, this is a disgrace to be even throwing the idea out there.
Hopefully the professional rugby players association will react and refuse to play in Qatar, or any of the other Arab nations with human rights issues. Many a golfer has sold his life to the LIV, let’s not do the same with rugby – this is a family and community sport, let’s not spoil it!
Ah jaysus
@Arthur Pewty: Exactly! Well said.
Murray, you made a typo with that. What he actually said was “i don’t give two shits about any rugby values or growing the game really. These boys with zero market and zero potential market are going to give us a few quid so I’m going to say whatever rubbish they’d like. Obviously certain members of our community might get locked up for being themselves if they actually go there but again we’re desperate for the cash”
“I think rugby and Western values around rugby especially are more pertinent than ever in the Middle East. And they are open to having those conversations around progress. Sport is a big part of that conversation of how they progress, how they’re seen to be progressive, and I hope we can be part of that.”
Absolutely disgusting weasel words.
All organisations, clubs, journalists must call this what it is.
Sportwashing.
URC launch in London-why? There is no English team in the competition
@Jonathan O’Riordan: good point. nearer the square mile where a lot of dogey money swills around? Sheiks also like London.
@Jonathan O’Riordan: Partly it’s to do with the CEO Anayi being a Londoner. But even so, I wouldn’t think that’d be an issue really.
@Jonathan O’Riordan: Probably the easiest place for all involved to travel to, flights from SA to Cardiff probably difficult same as Edinburgh etc same as northern Italy, easier to get to London than others, also easier for media to attend as well.
What the hey is this? I’m outraged at the human cost of how Qatar treated their South Asian work force in the building of the stadiums for FIFA, some of which would be used for this no doubt (there’s not a lot of space there). I’m not watching the next FIFA World Cup because of it now I will have to seriously consider my following of the URC if this materialises. I feel very strongly about this, they should not be rewarded for an amnesty issue.
For once everyone in the42 comments seems to be unanimous.
Terrible decision by the URC.
Since when do Arabs get involved in Rugby? Thought the africans already owned the urc… :)
This is a horrendous move for the league, and only serves to drop it further in my eyes, money talks, but where will the money come from after they’ve driven the sport into the ground?
@Patrick Breen: don’t you mean “ driven into the SAND” Patrick.
@Denis O Sullivan: wahey
Wat a disgrace.
Wtf, have they learned nothing from the deaths and shocking treatment of migrant workers building the stadiums and infrastructure for the World cup?
What the article doesn’t mention is that Qatar airlines have also sponsored EPCR, and wish to host Heineken Cup games in future as well. Can’t see it going down well if a team loses a home game to play in Qatar, esp among season ticket holders, but what odds that the final is hosted in Qatar before it is in Italy (who were supposed to host it it 2015)?
@Kingshu: just to add further thoughts on that, the proposed Club World Cup is planned to be played in just one host country every 4 years, can see Qatar hosting the 2nd edition of that.
@Kingshu: fast forward, I smell a quatari rugby world cup in the pipeline.. All those beautiful world cup stadiums built on modern slavery empty after the football wc…
@Stuart Collins: can certainly see a bid in the future, depending on how the football WC goes. As to the Club World Cup I can see them paying a lot af money to be permanent hosts, like Hong Kong 7s.
@Kingshu: what you mean like HK7s? HK as a venue has been an integral part of growing the 7s game since the beginning in the mid 70s! No comparison at all. Sure they throw a lot of money at it but it’s part of sevens tradition, they didn’t just arrive in after its full développement and try to buy it out!! Have you actually been at the HK7s?
If Leinster can’t bring any player of their choosing, the whole squad should boycott en-masse. Similarly, while Rugby Europe has traditionally had Russia as a contender, societal attitudes there are in need of enlightenment before we should reward them with our product.
what’s all the fuss. Every other professional sport is taking their money, from Formula 1 to soccer, tennis to Horse racing.
If they get free flights and holidays for their families to Quatar then well done I say.
@Tim Brennan: Well no one asked you.
@Tim Brennan: ignorance is bliss I guess
Will not be subscribing further if they do this.
At what price ?
Teams having to omit certain players from playing there, due to their sexual orientation….
This would be bad
Greedy B@st&@ds
Absolutely not acceptable at all, I truly hope the Irish sides refuse to go anywhere near the place.
“World’s best airline” my a**e. Having flown hundreds of times with scores of different airlines, there’s only one airline I’ll speak poorly of. Qatar. Those awards were bought, just like every other thing that country has achieved.