Anglo-French Heineken Cup breakaway proposal is offensive, claims European ...

And Quentin Smith’s offensive suggestion that ERC should focus on “running

itself down” is simply part of this attempt to renege on the binding

commercial contract.

Over the past 18 seasons, the Heineken Cup has grown steadily year-on-year and

has generated a massive €500 million (£420 million) for the professional

game through distribution from ERC’s central funds.

Since the 2005-06 season, ERC’s revenue has increased by 106 per cent and is

projected to be over €52 million (£44 million) for 2013-14. I am not aware

of other tournaments that have achieved this level of consistent growth, and

the club bodies have played a key role in this successful development with

Mark McCafferty of Premiership Rugby chairing our commercial subcommittee

for a number of years before being succeeded by René Bouscatel of the Ligue

Nationale de Rugby.

Over 14 million fans have passed through Heineken Cup turnstiles since 1995

with last season’s attendances easily passing the one million mark. The last

eight Heineken Cup finals were sell-out events, and the public ticket

allocation for last season’s final was snapped up in a matter of days more

than 11 months ahead of time.

With the Amlin Challenge Cup and Heineken Cup finals now played in the one

city, ERC’s showpiece weekend festival of rugby attracts fans from across

Europe with a conservative economic impact of €30 million on the host city.

Equally, there are major benefits for all the cities and towns which stage

tournament games.

ERC’s contribution to the Unions and clubs last season was €44.3 million (£37

million) – double the figure from 2005-06.

Under the current Accord, 85 per cent of the distribution is shared among six

European countries with the remaining 15 per cent reserved for meritocracy

based on which countries’ clubs progress furthest in the tournaments.

So from the nine European weekends last weekend, Premiership Rugby earned

€10.8 million (£9.1 million), while the French clubs who were more

successful, earned €12.1 million (£10.2 million). England and France are

both guaranteed 24 per cent of the shared fund while 13.25 per cent goes to

Ireland, Scotland, Wales, with 12.25 per cent reserved for Italy.

These figures do not include the ticket revenue, sponsorship and commercial

uplift that the Heineken Cup can generate, and for those who progress to a

quarter-final match there is often up to €1 million to be shared between the

two competing clubs.

Can ERC’s revenues grow in the future, and is there room for the share-out of

the funds to change? Yes, of course. During the last Accord negotiations,

the shareholdings and revenue splits were altered by general agreement. Can

the format change? Yes. Can the qualification criteria change? Again, yes.

But any changes to European club rugby can only be made if decision-makers

are prepared to engage and to enter into genuine negotiations to find a

solution for the benefit of all including fans and players alike.

Article source: http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/Rugby-Union-Stoke-time-click-says-skipper-Chris/story-19753246-detail/story.html

Anglo-French Heineken Cup breakaway proposal is offensive, claims European ...