The Rugby World Cup 2023 kicks off tonight and plenty of new brands will be involved.
Since the last world cup four years ago, a host of sponsors have joined the scrum, many of them French brands, understandable given the tournament is taking place in France.
Asahi, Capgemini, Accor and Volvic are among the new sponsors for the 2023 tournament, alongside a handful of French companies including TotalEnergies, France Pare-Brise and Orange.
Emirates is a long-time partner since 2007 along with Mastercard and Defender (Land Rover).
The UAE-based airline kicked-off the coveted tournament with a playful video featuring renowned South African referee, Jaco Peyper.
The video sees Peyper usher the airline’s iconic A380 with bespoke RWC 2023 livery to the tarmac, ready for take-off to Paris.
More brands
“As the game gathers pace and popularity, more brands and businesses will come on board for World Cups and other major events,” said David Corkery, a former international rugby player.
“It will also attract brands from countries that one doesn’t generally associate with rugby, for example India, where rugby is growing considerably.”
Corkery is part of an organisation called 100 World Legends, which makes a contribution to the community through outreach programmes.
The 100 World Legends has participated in several educational events for worthy causes, such as Heroes for Hope and the Al Noor Centre for Special Needs to promote sport among children and people of determination.
Hotel chain Premier Inn is part of the partnership providing free accommodation and support to the players.
“This partnership means the world to us. It’s great to have a comfy base to stay at. The work of the Legends is non-stop and never easy, but these guys have made us really welcome,” added Corkery.
The purpose of 100 World Legends is “to tackle poverty, disability, exploitation and human trafficking by applying rugby’s values of teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship.”
“We don’t get paid for what we do and all our work is done in our own personal time. Working with these worthy causes and communities is so rewarding – seeing the delight in the kids’ faces makes everything very worthwhile.”
“We’d love companies to actually come and see what we do, see the kids we work with and the activities we do, rather than have a meeting in a corporate office. It makes it so much more real,” added Corkery, who was capped 27 times by Ireland.
