by Rufus G-B
On the 8th of November 2023, the top 14 league consisting of the French clubs, the URC league consisting of Scottish, Irish, Welsh, Italian and South African rugby union teams agreed with the premier league consisting of English teams, the Super rugby league consisting on Australian, New Zealand and Pacific islands teams, and the Japanese division 1 league in which all pushed for an agreement of the standing to have a rugby club world cup. From the European and South African clubs, 8 teams will go into the group stages along with 6 from super rugby and 2 Japanese teams. The tournament will replace the group stages of the champions cup in the year 2028, solely to watch as the considered ‘best’ of the words compete for the title.
The state of rugby union differs across the globe, with rugby being the most watched and appraised sport in both South Africa and New Zealand. However, other countries such as the UK struggle with paying players and bringing in enough income, resulting in a nearing Welsh international players strike in 2022, and the English league to suffer 3 teams to be suspended due to the lack of correct financing management that can keep the club afloat. This often is due to not meeting expectations and over paying players and often neglecting the rest of the team, resulting in debt building up as the media and supporters can not make ends meet. In Super rugby however, it is New Zealand's most watched sport, keeping a series of television deals and media exposure positioning teams in financial security for the foreseeable future. The state of rugby globally holds promise, yet the flaws surrounding teams and the risk of injuries causing players top be eliminated on high pay only further decreases the benefit around the club world cup, for the prominence of alarming issues outweighs the need for further entertainment, costing more money that clubs don’t have to follow in the footsteps of the football club world cup.
However, the club world cup does allow for added exposure to the sport, especially as fans across the globe in Japan watch their teams lose or win so they may be invested in watching clubs from Europe or from Australia, bringing in the same fandom but spreading them across all the most competitive leagues. The final too will unite hemispheres around supporting rugby, as the best Northern team from the UK clubs, French clubs and Italian clubs can rally behind the northern hemisphere teams to define the best team that year, as can the Southern clubs. Like the World cup, it will partake every 4 years which allows for financial recovery around the hosting countries, and building suspense and excitement as two world cups will occur in the same year, between summer and spring for the clubs, and autumn to winter for the international game, leaving time for injury recovery and training with their teams after being on international leave, all of which benefit the players and the level of entertainment for the fans. This at best raise’s awareness for the sport to external countries like America, in which already have a large growing population of rugby players, just as for example the American footballs Super Bowls influence across the globe cause’s for fans across all continents without the need for international games, influencing the dramatisation and importance of the rugby Worlds playoff rugby.
The cup’s state of challenge excites fans globally, and may be the solution to the financial difficulties surrounding the sport as well. The future remains uncertain as to whether the Club world cup results in a growing crowd, or is another financial burden that lacks the supporting revenue to remain successful and develop the sport as a whole
Bibliography:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/apr/08/rugby-union-first-club-world-cup-june-2028
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