The governing body of the European Champions Cup decided to move its HQ out of the Swiss town of Neuchâtel just three years after it was established, "because of the travel demands" the location has put on its staff and execs, according to Gavin Mairs of the London TELEGRAPH. European Professional Club Rugby is understood to be relocating to Lausanne. Establishing an HQ in Neuchâtel in '15 was "intended to represent a new era for the competition" after the former governing body, Dublin-based European Rugby Cup, was "wound up following a power struggle" between the English and French clubs and the int'l unions. The "more obvious" locations of London and Paris were rejected because they were not regarded as “neutral” locations, given the "bitterness" of the dispute that led to the break-up of the ERC. The Neuchâtel area has "virtually no strong sporting links," and the hour-and-a-half journey by road or rail from Geneva is "thought to have put too much of an added strain on the business of governing the tournaments." Every member of the 20-strong staff is expected to move to the new location in Lausanne, which "features a rapid transit system and is less than one hour from Geneva airport, ahead of the start of next season" (TELEGRAPH, 1/10).
