Friday 20 March 2026 6:00 am | Updated: Wednesday 18 March 2026 12:04 pm Elior Champ Rugby deal may be good for clubs, but what’s the point? By: Ollie Phillips Share Facebook Share on Facebook X Share on Twitter LinkedIn Share on LinkedIn WhatsApp Share on WhatsApp Email Share on Email Add as a preferred source on Google It is great to see Champ Rugby get a sponsor in Elior, or is it? It is great to see Champ Rugby get its first sponsor in six years this week, in catering company Elior UK; it signals a shift in appetite for the second tier of English rugby. It will be a good marketing tool for clubs, whose matches are broadcast on streaming platform Clubber TV, and it solidifies the rationale behind the creation of a specific board for Champ Rugby that operates somewhat outside the remit of the governing Rugby Football Union. On the face of it, then, it is a positive move. But the reality is this: what on earth is the point? Take away the brilliance of the second tier being able to find a sponsor and you’ve got to ask what Elior gets out of this. Because the league doesn’t have promotion to Prem Rugby, not for a number of seasons anyway. And the best clubs in the league – when promotion returns – will likely be lost to the Prem. News Updates Stay ahead with our three daily briefings delivering all the key market moves, top business and political stories, and incisive analysis straight to your inbox. Champ future “The agreement marks the first title sponsorship for the league in over six years and reflects a shift towards purpose-led collaboration, where commercial success and social impact go hand in hand,” a statement announcing the deal said. First title sponsorship for the league in over six years? Great. Purpose-led collaboration? Even better. Where commercial success and social impact go hand in hand? The dream. But the reality? Well, that is less certain. Read more Exclusive: Rugby League monitoring Henry Pollock amid £1m Hearn wage demands The statement continued: “Champ Rugby is English rugby’s biggest supporter, connecting grassroots communities with the professional game and providing a ‘Proving Ground’ for future stars.” Maybe this is where the partnership is at its strongest, putting a brand name to the pathway of talent that may eventually go on to grace Allianz Stadium for England. Value Call me naive but I am just not sure where the league value is here. That said, I cannot wait to be proved wrong because the Champ needs exposure akin to the second-tier ProD2 in France. That league – boasting the likes of Jonathan Joseph, Courtney Lawes and Mako Vunipola – does not have a title sponsor but regularly sees full stadiums while being part of an bundled television deal with the Top 14. For that to work the matchday “weekend” has shifted from Saturday and Sunday to Thursday and Friday, with the Thursday match in a showpiece broadcast slot on domestic television. That is the next phase for the Champ, realising and coming to terms with the fact that no proper television deal will be worth having if it clashes with Prem Rugby and/or the Investec Champions Cup. The Elior deal is a stepping stone for the Champ – and I am not sure I entirely see the endgame for the brand – but next the second tier must revolutionise its broadcast offering and find a way of making Prem Rugby take notice and care about the leagues below it. Former England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips is the founder of Optimist Performance . Follow Ollie @OlliePhillips11 Read more Champions Cup rugby team hacked in ransom attack with player data at risk Share this article Facebook X LinkedIn WhatsApp Email Similarly tagged content: Sections Sport News Categories Sport Business Business Rugby Union Rugby Sport Opinion Sport People & Organisations Champ Rugby Clubber TV Elior Elior Champ Rugby Prem Rugby ProD2 Rugby Rugby Union Related Topics Rugby Union Sport Opinion Trending Articles Vodafone and Deliveroo look to patch up Reform ties after Yusuf prison threats Trio of firms poised to quit London Stock Exchange as exodus gathers pace Jaguar reveals the Type 01’s screen-free interior Easyjet’s over-60s recruitment push is economically necessary Jim O’Neill: Capital gains tax hike ‘looms’ as top option for Burnham More from City AM Exclusive: Rugby League monitoring Henry Pollock amid £1m Hearn wage demands Sport Business Champions Cup rugby team hacked in ransom attack with player data at risk Sport Business How sevens and Olympics can be commercial rugby lifeline Sport Business London City 7s sign up Springbok-producing powerhouse varsity team Sport Business Ticket price hikes proof Wales Rugby Union is tone deaf to loyal fan concerns Sport Business South Africa need cash from New Zealand Tests but All Blacks fans not like Lions Sport Business Exclusive: Twickenham residents branded anti-fun NIMBYs in rugby stadium row Sport Business Qatar Airways-backed airline Airlink defends Springboks flypast manoeuvre Sport Business Subscribe Subscribe to the City AM newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox. 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