World Rugby has sanctioned Ultimate Sevens’ debut season. Reebok’s appointment as founding kit partner is the first commercial deal struck under the new franchise model, as the September launch takes shape.
Reebok has been named the official kit partner for Ultimate Sevens, a new franchise-based rugby sevens competition set to launch in Europe in September.
Reebok will supply match and training kit, and produce fan merchandise for the competition’s six clubs. The company will also run the event’s online store and manage on-site retail at venues. The announcement comes as Ultimate Sevens says it has received World Rugby approval and support from national unions, which organizers view as an important step ahead of further commercial agreements.
A franchise model designed to draw investment over time
Ultimate Sevens is built around six clubs, each fielding a men’s and women’s team, representing England, the Celtic nations, France, Oceania, North America and South America/Spain. The top 75 players on the world sevens circuit have already been contracted, with a player draft scheduled for July.
Four knockout tournaments will be staged across four European cities, culminating in a grand final at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium in London on Sept. 24. All matches run for 10 minutes, with teams permitted one timeout rather than a traditional half-time interval. The initial player salary budget is £2m (approx. €2.3m).
The clubs are structured to attract individual franchise investors over time. Ultimate Sevens is backed by Bia Sports Group, the investment firm that also owns English football club Sunderland.
See also: The Guardian, ”Ultimate Sevens to launch in September as rugby union’s £2m answer to the Hundred”
