For the second time, Mohed Altrad will attend a match between the French XV and New Zealand, two teams of which he is the main sponsor.
France – New Zealand “Altradico” version, episode 2. The first sparked, at the opening of the 2023 World Cup. The Blues defeated the Blacks (27-13) in a melting French stadium.
The revenge on Saturday (9:10 p.m.) in the Dyonisian enclosure will have an even different flavor. Especially for Mohed Altrad. Unlike the World Cup, where the rules force nations to wear a jersey without a sponsor, this time the businessman will see his white bird almost everywhere. On Blue, Black and all around the pitch on the billboards.
Main partner of two of the best nations in the world, this is almost unheard of. Of the national teams having worn the same sponsor, only Ireland and England come to mind, sponsored by the O2 group (telephone operator) in the 2010s. The resources invested, however, were incomparable to those of the Altrad group currently.
The exact figures have never been communicated, remaining confidential due to private actions. What we know is that a six-year contract has been signed (2022-2028) with the fern jersey. An amount amounting to 120 million New Zealand dollars (67 million euros, or 11.2 million euros per year) was leaked. A probable figure, compared to the sum paid by AIG, the former sponsor, with 10 million euros per year.
Concerning the sponsor with the French team, an agreement around a roughly similar annual sum would have been found.
The Altrad bird appears on the jerseys of all the national teams of the two countries (professional, youth, women, etc.).
The number: 50
The number of millions of euros injected each year by the Altrad group into the Rugby community. President of the MHR, jersey sponsor of the French XV, the All Blacks but also of the Australian province of the Western Force, Mohed Altrad is the company that invests the most in rugby. The distribution of these 50 million euros, due to confidentiality clause, has not been communicated.
Phone call from Laporte and haka from Sean Fitzpatrick
And to think that fifteen years earlier, Mohed Altrad only knew about rugby the ovality of the ball. Called as a firefighter on duty to take the reins of the MHR in 2011, he saw his notoriety in the sector grow. Until this phone call from Bernard Laporte, then president of the French Rugby Federation, at the end of 2017. The Blues are in free fall sportingly (7th nation in the world) and are looking for a second wind financially. The businessman responded to the unprecedented call for tenders from the XV of France, and found an agreement spanning five years for an amount of 35 million euros. “The French team was a way to take the regional step in terms of notoriety”explains the businessman
Four years later, for similar reasons, it was the turn of the New Zealanders to seduce Mohed Altrad. “Sean Fitzpatrick, emblematic captain of the All Blacks, calls me. New Zealand is looking for a new sponsor. I'm involved with the Blues, that doesn't interest me, firstly says the business manager. Then he insisted and said to me: “Let’s see each other!”
Fitzpatrick takes the first plane to Barcelona and arrives at Mr. Altrad's hotel for a very early morning breakfast. “We start talking. And he says to me: 'This is how I'm going to present myself.' And he does the haka. It was impressive.” The two parties part ways there after an hour of discussion. Bank. The seduction operation worked.
The return on investment of all this? “It’s difficult to quantify it. What I can see is that we went from 400 million euros in turnover (in 2011) to 5.4 billion (in 2023)assured the president of the MHR last year. Obviously, it’s not just rugby that did this.” But the numbers are there.
Sponsor of the Blues until the 2026 Tournament with a “reciprocal ethics clause”
In 2023, the new governance of the FFR, led by Florian Grill, reached an agreement with the Altrad group to extend their partnership, which expired in 2024. A two and a half year contract was signed, while a duration of four years was originally planned.
The presidency of the Federation wanted to add an exit clause in the event of conviction on appeal of Mohed Altrad in the corruption case linking him to Bernard Laporte (the date of the trial is still unknown).
A press release also specified that a reciprocal ethics clause had been introduced into the contract, “in accordance with the policy currently followed by the FFR for all of its partnerships (and who) aims to guarantee that everyone's actions and decisions correspond to the principles of transparency, integrity and respect, which are essential for the Altrad Group, as for the FFR.”
Related News :