The "end to a 98-year tradition" was signaled last week when the French Rugby Federation (FFR) "quietly slipped out that it was finally going to sell the front of the French national rugby team’s shirt to a sponsor" -- the "last major rugby-playing nation to do so," according to Tim Crow for CITY A.M. When rugby union turned pro in the mid-'90s, the Rugby Football Union and most of its equivalents worldwide "immediately sold their shirts to sponsors." But two countries "held out:" France and New Zealand. And when New Zealand "sold the famous All Black shirt" to an American insurance company in '12, Les Bleus "became the only major national rugby team" that continued to take the field with "unbranded shirts." The "driving force behind this volte face" is new FFR President Bernard Laporte, the former head coach of Les Bleus, who proposed it as part of his successful presidential campaign last year. It is "much, much more than a commercial decision by the FFR." It is also a "big philosophical pivot." When the FFR revealed last week that it was going to sell Les Bleus' shirt to a sponsor, "it also revealed that it had given a first option on the sponsorship to the FFR’s top sponsors" -- one of which, BMW, is not French -- before opening it up to all comers. There is "no doubt that there will be high demand for the sponsorship given the popularity of rugby in France." By opening up the opportunity to int'l brands, the FFR has "significantly increased" its chances of achieving a deal at the "upper level" of its €6M-€10M ($6.45M-$10.74M) estimate (CITY A.M., 2/4).
