The future competition, which will begin in July 2026 in London and will include twelve nations who will compete on four sites before playing a final, has just found its main sponsor: the airline Qatar Airways, which has reached an agreement to pay 95.2 million euros over eight years with World Rugby executives.
Last October, we learned that Qatar had been chosen to organize the second final phase of the Nations Championship, in 2028. An announcement which confirmed the trend, that according to which World Rugby is turning more and more towards the Middle -Orient to find new investors. A few months later, our English colleagues from Guardian indicated at the end of last week that the next Nations Cup, a new international competition which will see the light of day in July 2026 in London, has just found its main sponsor for the next eight years. And it is Qatar Airways, which concluded an agreement of 80 million pounds sterling (or 95.2 million euros) to win this title. The eight-year agreement will cover the qualifying matches and final stages of the first four editions of the new competition, from 2026 to 2034 since this competition will be held every two years.
A strategic choice
One more sign which confirms the growing interest of Qataris in rugby, since the airline will already be the main sponsor of the British and Irish Lions tour this summer in Australia. A strategic choice on the part of Qatar which must recognize that its neighbor, Saudi Arabia, has managed to establish itself in the Football landscape by winning the rights to the 2034 Football World Cup. Qatar even wanted to organize the first four Nations Cup finals, but the proposal was rejected by the Irish and French unions due to uncertainty over spectator numbers and concerns over the country’s respect for human rights. The agreement in principle gives Qatar the option to host the event again in 2030 or 2032, if certain revenue targets are met. As a reminder, the first Nations Cup will take place next year as part of a collaboration between the Six Nations and the Sanzaar of the southern hemisphere, with the help of World Rugby. The Six Nations teams will play three away matches and three home matches against the Sanzaar nations and two other nations – expected to be Japan and Fiji – in July and November, followed by a final tournament.
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