EPCR is pleased to announce that industry-leader, Gilbert, have renewed their agreement as the official ball supplier for the Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup.
With Gilbert joining EPCR as Official Ball Supplier ahead of the 2014/15 season, this contract renewal will see Gilbert and EPCR celebrating the 10-year milestone of the partnership.
Having set the standard in match-ball quality and development for decades, Gilbert will once again be the choice for EPCR when the pool stages of the tournaments get under way next month.
EPCR Marketing and Commercial Director, François Vergnol, said: “We are delighted to have renewed our long-standing partnership with Gilbert. They bring quality and technical expertise to the professional game, and we are confident that the players in our elite tournaments will continue to enjoy Gilbert’s match balls, which are undoubtedly the best in the business.”
Richard Gray CEO Commercial at Gilbert Rugby added, “We are delighted to renew our long and successful relationship with EPCR and to extend our support of the elite club competitions in Europe. The 2022 tournament promises to be another unforgettable experience with the exciting new structure and the introduction of the South African teams. We are excited to re-launch the official ball designs for both the Heineken Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup – allowing fans to join us in celebrating the best of European Rugby.”
EPCR’s tournaments are set to extend their reach with a range of TV deals for the new cycle including the confirmation of SuperSport as the exclusive broadcaster in South Africa in tandem with the landmark inclusion of the DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls, Cell C Sharks, Emirates Lions and Toyota Cheetahs from this season.
EPCR has also agreed a multi-year partnership with the streaming platform FloSports, as the exclusive broadcaster of its tournaments in the USA. BT Sport and beIN SPORTS have also renewed their partnerships with EPCR to broadcast the Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup in the UK and Ireland, and France respectively.
With the confirmation of ITV, RTE and S4C in the UK and Ireland, as well as France Télévisions in France, the EPCR tournaments will also be broadcast free-to-air to more audiences than ever before.
The Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup will be played over eight weekends and the journey to the 2023 finals at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium – for which close to 55,000 tickets have already been sold – kicks off on Friday, 9 December.
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About Gilbert Rugby
Gilbert Rugby is the world’s longest serving rugby brand having served the rugby world since 1823 and remains a UK family run business at the heart of the game today; trusted by the Global rugby family to provide the most innovative and best performing products & support to enable players to perform to their full potential.
Gilbert is the official ball of Rugby World Cup 2023, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, United Rugby Championship and Top 14.
Keep up to date with all Gilbert news on @GilbertRugby For more information visit www.gilbertrugby.com
About EPCR
European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) is the organiser of the Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup. EPCR’s mission is to create outstanding rugby experiences for all key stakeholders, including leagues, clubs, players, match officials, unions, fans, broadcast and commercial partners, communities and the media.
Established in 2014 with headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, EPCR has the following members: Fédération Française de Rugby (FFR), Federazione Italiana Rugby (FIR), Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR), Premier Rugby Ltd (PRL), PRO Rugby Championship DAC (URC), Rugby Football Union (RFU), Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) and Welsh Rugby Union (WRU).
The Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup tournaments feature clubs which have qualified on merit from their respective domestic leagues – Gallagher Premiership Rugby, the TOP 14 and the BKT United Rugby Championship.
