Rugby-New European competition to follow UEFA sponsorship model

By Keith Weir

LONDON, April 11 (Reuters) - The new European club rugby competition launching next season will not have a title sponsor but instead seek a group of backers, emulating a model that has proved lucrative for Champions League soccer.

The European Rugby Champions Cup will replace the Heineken Cup and involve 20 teams from the continent's six main rugby-playing nations, settling a long-running dispute about the format of the tournament.

Dominic Hayes, commercial director of England's Premiership Rugby, said the plan was to look for backing from up to six companies to maximise income from the competition.

"We already know that there is strong interest from a number of brands who see the huge value in a partnership with elite European club rugby," he said.

"We believe that there is enormous potential to drive the commercial value of the competitions."

Heineken (Other OTC: HEINY - news) reportedly pays around 10 million euros ($13.9 million) per season for its naming rights.

Bringing in a group of sponsors would not only provide additional revenue, but also allow the competition to be marketed to a wider audience across a range of businesses.

However, the organisers face a race against time to get sponsors signed up in time for the start of next season.

Dutch brewer Heineken said it was disappointed at the demise of a tournament with which it has been associated since launch in 1995 but did not rule out involvement in its successor.

"When we are approached by the new competition's organisers, we will evaluate sponsorship proposals, and then make a decision on whether or not to continue our association with European club rugby," said Heineken spokesman John Clarke.

Heineken will be familiar with the proposed sponsorship model as it is one of the eight main corporate partners of UEFA's Champions League.

Japanese carmaker Nissan signed up this week to replace Ford as a Champions League sponsor in a deal reported to have cost it as much as $75 million per season.

Television coverage of rugby's Champions Cup in Britain will be shared by BT Sport and Sky Sports after the pay TV rivals reached an agreement to settle their dispute over rights. That will guarantee it a high profile with British sports fans.

Insurance group Amlin (LSE: AML.L - news) had been sponsoring the Challenge Cup, the second tier European club competition for the past five years but that agreement will now end.

"We will continue our close involvement with rugby and other professional sports which identify with our values of leadership, teamwork and professionalism," an Amlin spokesman said, refusing to comment on whether it would seek a new deal with European rugby.

The Champions Cup will be the biggest of three cross-border club competitions to begin in 2014-15. ($1 = 0.7204 Euros) (Writing by Keith Weir; editing by Justin Palmer)