Menu
Events and Attractions

English Premiership Rugby Clubs Confirm Exit From ERC's Heineken Cup

England's top-flight rugby clubs "have reiterated that they will not take part in the Heineken Cup next season, even though the decision leaves them seemingly isolated in Europe," according to the BBC. English and French clubs "gave notice 17 months ago that they would leave and form a breakaway competition." But last week, French teams "committed to the current tournament -- as long as their English counterparts also did." Premiership Rugby said it was looking at a "number of other options." The governing body's Chair Quentin Smith told BBC Radio 5 live those options included "expanding domestic competitions and looking at things we can do in our own jurisdiction, and playing countries and other clubs in the northern and southern hemisphere" (BBC, 12/5). REUTERS' Mitch Phillips reported English club owners and Premiership officials "have been at loggerheads" with European Rugby Cup, which runs the Heineken Cup and second-tier Amlin Cup, as well as the Irish, Scottish and Italian leagues, as they "seek to reform aspects of qualification and payment." The ERC "has proposed a reformatted tournament for next season, featuring 20 clubs instead of the current 24, as well as changes in the distribution of income." The unions of France, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy -- but notably not England -- "recently issued a joint statement saying they backed ERC and the plans for a revised competition under its control." However, that "was not enough to convince the English clubs to go back on their stated desire to leave and set up an alternative competition." A Premiership statement said, "ERC does not structurally recognise the role of the leagues and clubs in driving the success of club competitions, under the overall governance of Unions" (REUTERS, 12/5).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: April 25, 2024

Motor City's big weekend; Kevin Warren's big bet; Bill Belichick's big makeover and the WNBA's big week continues

TNT’s Stan Van Gundy, ESPN’s Tim Reed, NBA Playoffs and NFL Draft

On this week’s pod, SBJ’s Austin Karp has two Big Get interviews. The first is with TNT’s Stan Van Gundy as he breaks down the NBA Playoffs from the booth. Later in the show, we hear from ESPN’s VP of Programming and Acquisitions Tim Reed as the NFL Draft gets set to kick off on Thursday night in Motown. SBJ’s Tom Friend also joins the show to share his insights into NBA viewership trends.

SBJ I Factor: Molly Mazzolini

SBJ I Factor features an interview with Molly Mazzolini. Elevate's Senior Operating Advisor – Design + Strategic Alliances chats with SBJ’s Ross Nethery about the power of taking chances. Mazzolini is a member of the SBJ Game Changers Class of 2016. She shares stories of her career including co-founding sports design consultancy Infinite Scale career journey and how a chance encounter while working at a stationery store launched her career in the sports industry. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2013/12/06/Events-and-Attractions/Heineken-Cup.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2013/12/06/Events-and-Attractions/Heineken-Cup.aspx

CLOSE