There was good news yesterday for fans of the Heineken Cup with the Irish, Scottish, Welsh, French and Italian rugby unions issuing a joint statement concerning the future of the competition.
There have been doubts for months regarding the future of the Cup with English Premiership sides stating that they no longer recognise the European Rugby Cup and will not participate in any events under its banner.
However, the release from the other five unions is adamant that a 20-team tournament will go ahead.
“All five Unions believe that it is critical to the interests of the game in Europe that the Unions are at the heart of the governance of cross-border club competitions given that rugby in each country is organised in a pyramidical structure,” says the statement.
“Clubs, provinces and regional organisations form an integral part of the development of the game throughout this structure, from grassroots to the international game.
“Cross-border club competitions must not conflict with the development of the sport in Europe by Unions, this being in the best interest of players, spectators and the sport in general.”
The statement also outlines the four key talking points agreed upon at the meeting:
- A European club competition is to take place during the 2014/2015 season following an optimized sporting and economic format with 20 teams, no matter how many countries are involved.
- The competition will be driven by the existing organisation (currently named ERC) which will remain in charge of the centralised sale and management of all commercial rights, amongst other things.
- Discussions over governance will be pursued in order to optimise the internal functioning of the existing organization (currently named ERC).
- The common aim is to move eventually towards the integration of European competitions within all-encompassing European rugby framework.
The discussions took place in Dublin, and also on the agenda was preservation of the Amlin Challenge Cup.
Premiership Rugby is expected to launch a Rugby Champions Cup for the 2014/15 season.
