World Rugby Partners With Fanatics For Global Licensed Merchandise & Retail Experience

World Rugby signed an exclusive global partnership with Fanatics, a global digital sports platform, to launch and manage the official retail and licensing programme for the sports governing body,

The partnership will include Rugby World Cups through to 2029 (England in 2025, and Australia in 2027 and 2029) from which World Rugby hopes each event will benefit from Fanatics’ extensive global digital network and in-venue retail capability. It is hoped it will “expand rugby’s reach by making merchandise more accessible to rugby fans worldwide,” said World Rugby.

The sport’s first ‘always on’ global merchandise destination for World Rugby and national member unions will be created as part of the plans. Fanatics will “create, curate and manage the e-commerce, in-venue, wholesale, memorabilia and licensing programme for the sport’s biggest events.

World Rugby Chief Revenue Officer Michel Poussau said: “This is a landmark deal that represents our ambition to align our events and products under a single always-on destination for fans.

It will ensure that their experience will be best-in-class, no matter where they are in the world as we accelerate into a new era for rugby with all Rugby World Cup hosts confirmed through to 2033, including an era-defining Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025, game-changing men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups in Australia in 2027 and 29 and historic men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups in the USA in 2031 and 33. Fanatics’ global market reach and innovation is particularly exciting.”

How Will Fanatics Help World Rugby Reach And Engage With a Younger Audience

Fanatics has partnered with top sports brands worldwide and has extensive global reach, “including a major presence in important markets for rugby expansion over the next decade.”

Fanatics President of International Stephen Dowling added: “Rugby is undergoing a huge transformation in terms of how it reaches and engages with fans across the globe, and we are delighted to partner with World Rugby to bring forward this exciting new era.

With tentpole events, such as Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, on the horizon, this collaboration will offer rugby fans a new, always-on global destination offering access to the very best in product, service and fan experience – no matter where you are in the world or how you prefer to shop.

 Stephen Dowling added, “Together with World Rugby, we are raising the bar for rugby fans around the world, and we can’t wait to get started.”

Fanatics has worked with the following:

• Rugby – Rugby Australia, England Rugby, New Zealand Rugby, Six Nations Rugby, and the British and Irish Lions.
• Partners with more than 900 of the world’s pre-eminent sports organisations, including Chelsea FC, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Aston Villa, Everton, the AFL, the R&A, NFL, NBA, NHL, WWE and Formula 1.

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