Latest news with #Anayi
IOL News
5 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
SA Rugby to unlock new revenues as full shareholders in URC from next season
South Africa will see a bigger revenue picture when they become full partners in the United Rugby Championship (URC) from the end of June this year. While the URC has treated the South African Rugby Union (SA Rugby) and the four franchises the way full members have been treated, CEO Martin Anayi confirmed this week they will be granted equity in the URC and European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) competitions. SA Rugby's status as a full shareholder promises better financial gains for them, with the mother body no longer required to pay annual participation fees to the URC. The broadcasting and sponsor revenue will now be redirected directly through the URC structure from which SA is set to benefit. 'We effectively treat the South African Rugby Union and the four franchises the same way we do all our members already,' Anayi said this week. 'They are on the same boards and committees. They have the same decision-making. The key thing is they become a full shareholder from the end of June and that is a process that is on-going. From the impact point of view, it is substantial, most importantly from a competitive point of view. We've had three finals in South Africa. 'Yes, we've had two away wins, but those teams (from South Africa) are super competitive, and we've seen over 34 000 tickets sold for the Bulls vs Sharks game (the semi-final at Loftus) already. We had a huge number of tickets sold (last week) for the Sharks game (vs Munster) in the quarter-final. There is a huge engagement which drives everything else. 'It is a very positive relationship with all of the stakeholders in South African rugby, and they want to be part of the league. They are putting the league first. That is a massive boost for the URC. It is fantastic, but ultimately it starts with the most important thing; competitively, those teams are right up there, and they are pushing standards.' Anayi added that the addition of the South African teams made the league more competitive than before. He said it's an important change in June, because South Africa becomes a full shareholder with it. Meaning, they will have equity in the league. He continued that there is no indication that the local sides failed to live up to expectations in the tournament. 'That is a very hard argument to make seeing that SA had three finals in three years. I haven't had that, and it is not something that's been discussed around our table.'
Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
URC chief realistic about Croke Park crowd numbers in event Leinster make final
BKT URC boss Martin Anayi is 'being realistic' about a likely attendance at Croke Park in two weekend's time should Leinster overcome some concerning form and qualify for the league final against one of two South African opponents. The choice of GAA headquarters was made last summer when the URC's teams were asked to pencil in potential dates for the calendar ahead. It appeared at that time as if the Aviva Stadium would not be available for a theoretical decider due to soccer commitments. So it is that Leinster and one of the Sharks or Bulls would compete for the league title on the northside of the Irish capital in the event that Leo Cullen's side makes it that far. And that would create a challenge. Leinster did draw a capacity 80,000-plus crowd to Croke Park for a regular season meeting with Munster back in early October, and for a Champions Cup semi-final against Northampton Saints 13 months ago. More recent crowd figures at the Aviva Stadium give cause for concern while Munster's elimination at the last eight stage last weekend in Durban deprives competition organisers of a potential all-Irish clash that would have generated enormous interest. Timing is another factor with ticket offices and marketing departments having just seven days to drum up sales, and early indications are that it would be a bridge too far to have Croke Park anywhere near half full. 'We've got a really good relationship with the GAA and the leadership there, working very closely with Leinster,' said Anayi. 'There's a lot of tickets to sell in a very short period of time, that one week. 'We're being realistic about what can happen, but it's exciting. We'd love to have that as a spectacle, which is one of the brilliant things that is happening in Ireland, that we're seeing rugby being played in GAA stadiums very successfully.' The first three URC finals have all been played in South Africa with a figure of 31,000 in year one jumping into the fifties for the next two. Over 33,000 tickets have already been sold for the Bulls-Sharks semi-final at Loftus Versfeld. Should Glasgow win this weekend, another final would go down south. Ultimately, there is no sure way of ensuring high crowds given the vagaries across five competing nations and the compacted rugby schedule, but Anayi did confirm that there will be a week off between the final two rounds next year. Now in his tenth year as CEO, the Englishman started off an hour-long media briefing by highlighting the journey taken by a league which has clearly improved from its days as the Celtic League, Magners League and PRO12 or 14. Attendances, he claimed, are up 14% with an average of just under 12,000 per game, and broadcast figures are improving every year since the URC's inception with over 150 million viewers logged since 2021. New TV deals through to 2029 were announced for the various territories earlier this year. Total earnings have supposedly shot up by 33% in the competition's new guise, with another 15-16% bump predicted by 2027. The South African union (SARU) will become a full shareholder in the URC as of this summer, but then change is stitched into the DNA of this tournament and there may be more around the corner given the turbulence in Wales. The Welsh union's contract with the URC commits them to four participating clubs. That is at risk with suggestions that one of the regions may go out of existence, although Anayi said the league would work with the WRU which is, again, one of its shareholders. Whatever about losing a team or two, it doesn't look like the URC will be admitting any more for now regardless of speculation in the last year about the possibility of teams like Georgia's Black Lion or London Irish coming on board. Anayi referenced player welfare, logistics and the league's current competitiveness as potential barriers and remarked that 'the bar is very high' for further expansion. Not that any such concerns stopped the establishment of a World Club Cup. Due to start in 2028, it will replace the knockout stages of the Champions Cup that year, and again in 2032. The URC, as a stakeholder in the EPCR organisation that runs the European competitions, is fully on board. 'We've supported the EPCR and it is very much something that our partners in England and France feel strongly about it. It seems it could be quite intriguing … to see the likes of the Brumbies and Crusaders compete against the best teams in Europe, and South Africa. 'We have a couple of touch points in that, where Crusaders came up and played against Munster in Pairc Ui Chaoimh when Munster had won our league and Crusaders had won Super Rugby Pacific. 'That got a really good attendance, a sellout. That was one little nugget to say, 'okay, there is an interest in that'. That was one of the areas that we focused on.'
Scotsman
6 days ago
- Business
- Scotsman
URC chief addresses breakaway league and free-to-air potential for Scottish clubs
Little prospect of women's URC in near future Sign up to our Rugby Union newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Any free-to-air coverage of Scottish clubs in the BKT United Rugby Championship is likely to come via YouTube rather than traditional TV broadcasters, according to Martin Anayi, the URC's chief executive. Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh compete in the 16-team league with clubs from Ireland, Wales, Italy and South Africa but have been something of an outlier as their games have never been broadcast on terrestrial TV. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad While broadcasters in the other competing nations have shown matches free to air, both BBC Scotland and STV have not. Rugby fans in Scotland - and the rest of the UK and Ireland - can subscribe to Premier Sports, the pay-TV station which shows every URC game. In addition, TG4 shows some free-to-air coverage in Ireland and talks are ongoing with Welsh language station SC4 to provide similar in Wales. Martin Anayi, chief executive of the BKT United Rugby Championship. | URC It is a situation that moved former Scottish Rugby chief Mark Dodson to say he felt 'embarrassed' that no broadcaster in Scotland was willing to show free-to-air coverage of the new URC when it was launched in 2021. While STV announced a partnership with Premier Sports this year to stream URC matches, it is a paid-for service. Any free-to-air coverage is likely to come via YouTube, said Anayi, who envisages working more closely with Premier. 'Premier Sports do a wonderful job, especially around the offering in Scotland,' said Anayi. 'They've got a lot of football and it's a very good viewership for Premier Sports in Scotland. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I think we're working with Premier Sports to see, actually, is there a free-to-air angle? We might look around YouTube, for example. That, I think, allows us to grow a younger audience without affecting the subscriber audience and will allow us to drive digitally a fan base, a viewership which is growing day by day towards Premier Sports over time.' Premier Sports has covered the United Rugby Championship since its inception in 2021. | SNS Group Anayi, speaking at an end-of-season media call, said the URC was in a good place, with attendances up 14 per cent year on year, averaging just below 12,000 per game. Asked about the threat from a putative breakaway league which has been claimed to offer a 'generational change in rugby', Anayi said his focus was only on improving the URC. The breakaway plan is being led by former England international Mike Tindall. Called R360, the so-called 'revolutionary blueprint' is said to involve a franchise model which would target the world's best players. 'What we do is just focus on ourselves,' said Anayi. 'We've got big games, like we had 80,000 at Croke Park for the Leinster-Munster game. We encourage those big games. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We're in big cities but we're about community as well. We're about being part of an ecosystem, which we care deeply about, that has grassroots at one end and international rugby at another. We play a really important part in that pyramid. We're just focused on making the URC as great as possible. I think if we do that, that's all we can control.' Anayi also played down the prospects of a women's URC, something that was first floated in 2022. 'I don't think it works, especially with travel,' said Anayi. 'I think that's a key element. We've got to grow something that is sustainable in the women's game. The money that's there for the men's game isn't there for the women's game.'
The 42
6 days ago
- Business
- The 42
'That game, I think, is the most viewed highlights on YouTube that we've ever had'
UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP chief executive Martin Anayi says there hasn't been any discussion of disciplinary action in relation to the end of Munster's quarter-final clash with the Sharks in Durban on Saturday. While the Sharks ultimately advanced to the penultimate phase of the BKT URC with a 6-4 penalty shootout victory, the apparent 'gamesmanship' of Jaden Hendrikse in a dramatic conclusion to the action at Kings Park Stadium has come in for heavy criticism. After being shouted at by the South African international before his first kick, Jack Crowley's second effort in the shootout was delayed as Hendrikse lay on the field to receive treatment for cramp and then proceeded to wink at the visibly frustrated Munster fly-half. Crowley went on to have some heated exchanges with a member of the Sharks backroom staff with a lot being made of how much personnel the South Africans had on the pitch at this point. 'There is pretty tight regulation about staff, so I think if there was somebody who was on the pitch who shouldn't have been, that will get flagged. From it being something that has spiked viewership, quite honestly, it has. That game I think is the most viewed highlights on YouTube that we've ever had,' Anayi said in a BKT United Rugby Championship media call earlier today. 'It shows the level of intrigue in the game and interest. Spiked by, I guess, gamesmanship. Ultimately, we want characters in the sport and when you have characters and when you encourage people to show their characters, that can be positive and negative. There are heroes and villains in all stories, great sporting stories. 'I guess that is kind of what is emerging here, isn't it? Whether that turns into disciplinary, I just haven't seen anything like that, but needless to say it certainly spiked an interest in the league.' Advertisement Last Saturday saw Munster suffering their second quarter-final shootout loss in recent memory, following a similar exit at the hands of Toulouse in the last-eight of the European Champions Cup at the Aviva Stadium in May 2022. Like last weekend, that penalty battle with the Top 14 giants saw three players from each side tasked with taking two kicks apiece at goal – albeit the southern province were already consigned to defeat on both occasions before they had a chance to take their sixth effort. Before then, the most famous shootout in club rugby was the 2009 Heineken Cup semi-final between Leicester Tigers and Cardiff Blues, when players had just one kick each from in front of the posts. Had either Munster or Sharks scored more tries (they registered three apiece) than the other over the course of Saturday's contest, they would have progressed to the last-four even if the game was tied on the scoreboard at the end of extra-time. With this in mind – and the fact that the competition's schedule ensured a winner had to be produced on the day – Anayi feels the best possible outcome was reached in Durban. 'I think we had a bit more of a sensible structure, where you have three designated kickers taking two kicks each. There is very little other way to get the winner in the time frame, which is obviously what we need for the following week. 'We felt like that was the best possible outcome once you'd gone through the other metrics of distinguishing the winner, which they were tied on. I think it was the best possible outcome. It showed drama, intrigue and got a lot of people talking. Which is not a bad thing.' Over the course of a lengthy media call, Anayi was also asked about R360 – the proposed new breakaway league for men's and women's club rugby that is scheduled to launch next year. 'I probably know as much as you guys know, quite honestly. What we do is just focus on ourselves. We've got big games. You probably would have been to the 80,000 in Croke Park for the Leinster-Munster game. To have big events like that, we encourage those big games. We're in big cities,' Anayi stated. 'We're about community though as well, we are about being part of an ecosystem which we care deeply about. We just focus on making URC as great as possible. I think if we do that, that's all we can control.' The Leinster-Munster game that Anayi refers to was the URC fourth round clash on 12 October, 2024 that attracted 80,468 spectators to Croke Park. It was officially confirmed earlier this week that GAA HQ will host the URC's latest decider if Leinster manage to get past Glasgow Warriors in this Saturday's semi-final at the Aviva Stadium. It would be a major challenge to sell tickets for a potential Croke Park showpiece at just seven days' notice (the attendance for Leinster's quarter-final against Scarlets in the Aviva last Saturday was a paltry 12,879), but the prospect of another URC encounter taking place at the north Dublin venue is something that intrigues Anayi. 'Obviously we've had a league game there already. We've got a really good relationship with the GAA and the leadership there. Obviously working very closely with Leinster. There's a lot of tickets to sell in a very short period of time, that one week,' Anayi added. 'We're being realistic about what can happen in one week, but it's exciting. We'd love to have that as a spectacle, which is one of the brilliant things that is happening in Ireland. That we're seeing rugby being played in GAA stadiums very successfully.'
RTÉ News
6 days ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
No disciplinary action planned for Sharks 'gamesmanship', says URC chief
The URC has no plans to take any disciplinary action after the confrontation at the end of Munster's quarter-final defeat to Sharks on Saturday. Ian Costello's side lost out in a place-kicking shootout after the teams finished level, 24-24, following 100 minutes of rugby in Durban. However, controversy arose during the shootout with Jack Crowley and Jaden Hendrikse exchanging words, with the Sharks scrum-half also appearing to wink at the Munster out-half. Hendrickse had also fallen down with cramp after his second kick, forcing a delay in Crowley's second shot at goal. Conor Murray also became involved the altercation when multiple members of the Sharks backroom team came on to treat the Springboks back. BKT United Rugby Championship chief executive Martin Anayi spoke to reporters on Wednesday morning and said that the situation "hasn't been flagged on a disciplinary level". He did admit that the incident helped viewership numbers with highlights reaching 390,000 views on their YouTube channel. "There is pretty tight regulation about staff so I think if there was somebody on the pitch who shouldn't have been that will get flagged," he told RTÉ Sport. "From it being something that has spiked viewership, quite honestly, it has. "That game has the most viewed highlights on YouTube we've ever had. "It shows the level of intrigue and interest in the game, spiked by, I guess, gamesmanship. "There's a thin line between that being a positive and a negative. "It's a difficult one, I've listened to a lot of podcasts over the last couple of days talking about it. "Ultimately, we want characters in the sport and when you have characters and when you encourage people to show their character, that can be positive and negative. "There are heroes and villains in all great sporting stories "I think that kind of what is emerging here, isn't it. "Whether that turns to disciplinary [action], I just haven't seen anything like that but needless to say, it certainly spiked an interest in the league. "In the rivalry between Ireland and South Africa, which is really bubbling along, I guess it's another chapter in that story." Anayi added that the place-kicking shootout, called "whatever you call that c**p" by Munster captain Tadhg Beirne, was the best way to decide a winner when the teams are tied and have scored the same number of tries. "There really is very little other way to get the winner in the timeframe, which is obviously what we need for the following week," he said. "It showed drama, intrigue and got a lot of people talking. Which is not a bad thing." Sharks play Bulls in Saturday's second semi-final with the winners playing either Leinster in Croke Park or Glasgow Warriors in South Africa on 14 June. Meanwhile, Anayi said he hadn't any more details than have been made public about the proposed R360 breakaway league, which would be similar to the LIV golf and Indian Premier League cricket tournaments. Organisers, led by former England centre Mike Tindall, of the project want to create both a men's and women's superclub competition, playing over 16 weeks in two blocks between April and June, and August and September, outside of international windows. "You try to do it physically, you try to do it with your mouth...a lot of things, rubbing guys' hair, faces in the ground." - Leinster senior coach Jacques Nienaber on Sharks-Munster gamesmanship #RTERugby #RTESport — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) June 2, 2025 They want to take the best 360 players in the world and double their pay. The games would take place between the franchises in different cities around the world. "I probably know as much as you guys know, quite honestly," said Anayi. "What we do is just focus on ourselves. We've got big games. "We get 80,000 at Croke Park for Leinster-Munster, so to have big events like that, we encourage those games, we're in big cities. "We're about community as well. "We are about being part of an ecosystem that we care deeply about, that has grassroots at one end and international rugby at another. "We play a really important part in that pyramid. We just focus on making URC as good as possible and that's all we can control."
