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BY ALEXANDER MCCOWAN
In 2006 when Cyprus played their first international rugby game against Greece, they clearly displayed their standing as the newest member of the European Federation, by turning up for the game without any national team shirts (apparently they were somewhere in India).
The Greeks were ablaze with major and minor sponsors, Bank of Greece taking prominence; Cyprus appeared wearing a tee-shirt provided by a local Paphos taverna. Result: Cyprus 39 – Greece 3.
Apart from national financial support (rugby in Greece receives 300,000 euros a year), international rugby union is totally dependant on sponsorship and the mainstay of this is supplied by the western world’s major manufacturers, banks, brewers and distillers. The home nations are England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy, all participants drawn from home based leagues that play in competitions sponsored by brewers like Heineken, Guinness, Magners and Labatts. Major tournaments could not function without support from such weighty companies as RBS, HSBC, Investec, Invesco and Bank of America. Nearly all international players have sponsorship deals with the major sports equipment suppliers such as Nike, Adidas and Gilbert that will supply them with strip, boots and balls, all carrying their readily identifiable logos.
Communications giants pay millions to see their company name emblazoned across the backs of their national heroes, battling for supremacy in the international arena.
Even in county-based competitions, various British clubs will be supported by a local independent brewer: Brains in Wales, Coors in Gloucester, Shepherd Neame in Kent and Sussex. Most senior clubs, which are now fully professional, will be owned by wealthy businessmen anxious to promote their companies, through the success of the team.
In Cyprus, however, sponsorship is negligible, the team receives very limited funding from KOA, compared to football, with our young players paying all their own travelling and accommodation expenses – an away game costs on average 25,000 euros.
Rugby is now the third most viewed sport in the world; the audience for the Rugby World Cup exceeds 1 bln, so it is no surprise that sponsors will negotiate contracts involving millions to achieve prominence for their products. The major television operators sign contracts worth hundreds of millions with the national rugby federations and unions for the privilege of securing the rights to cover and broadcast the major competitions such as the World Cup, the Home Nation’s championship, and the Tri-Nation’s Cup that involves the southern hemisphere nations: South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In addition to these games are the extremely popular matches involving Rugby Sevens, a fast furious short form of the game that attracts viewers from all disciplines that may have little knowledge of the 15-a-side game.
Some of the major financial centres have developed their own competitions which attract huge audiences and sponsors, Hong Kong and Dubai being paramount examples. The decision of the International Olympic Committee to admit Rugby Sevens into the Games from 2016 is testament to the game’s popularity.
This year is probably the most important so far experienced by the Cyprus Rugby Federation, while they are undefeated in their European division over the last three years, having beaten Slovakia, Bosnia, Azerbaijan and Monaco on every occasion they have encountered them, they are now on stream to gain promotion to higher European leagues. The national team commenced its campaign against Azerbaijan earlier in March at the Paphiachos stadium, followed by the crucial game against Bosnia on March 27 which we won 15-0. For the first time, Cyprus got coverage not only from LTV, a stalwart supporter, and CYBC, but by Sky TV that broadcast via their “Total Rugby” programme to the whole of their viewing public throughout the rugby world.
The audience is massive: the Cyprus Rugby Federation has been selected by this broadcaster as one of the most interesting emerging rugby nations. This is merely a prelude to the forthcoming summer enterprise when Cyprus has been trusted by the European Rugby Federation to host the penultimate venue for their annual rugby sevens competition. The island has been requested to organise a series of games involving such major rugby playing countries as France, Germany, Spain, Georgia, Croatia, Serbia, Greece, Israel and Malta. Many of these countries are full professionals, but for a country that has only been involved in international rugby for three years it is a singular achievement. All of these matches will determine which nations will go forward to the Olympic Games. Currently, Cyprus is ranked 12th in Europe, which is 13 places above Greece, and if they perform as well as they did last year, who knows. You wouldn’t bet against them.
Another aspect of the development of rugby in Cyprus is that the island is being targeted by foreign clubs knowing they will encounter serious opposition, and are arranging off-season tours to benefit from the equitable climate and conditions, and bring their teams here, which is one of those boosts to our flagging tourist industry that the C.T.O. is unaware of.
In conclusion, our entrepreneurs have an opportunity to exploit a situation, never previously presented, that allows them to penetrate markets, through Cyprus rugby, that they could never have contemplated before. All of the achievements recorded above could not been have attained without the dedication and commitment of their founders: the redoubtable Costas Mastourides; Loukis Pattihis, the current president; Johnny Stavrinou, the president elect, all of whom have dug deep into their own pockets to ensure the survival of Cyprus rugby.
Are there any sponsors out there?
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An unexpected rugby fan on one of the Cyprus team’s overseas trips. President Christofias with members of the Cyprus Rugby national side.
