Drop goal for rugby federations as Heineken Cup revenues rise to €22m

THE six rugby federations that run the Heineken Cup shared €22 million in revenues from the competition in 2006, an increase of €5m.

Newly filed accounts for European Rugby Cup (ERC), the Dublin-based company that organises the Heineken Cup, reveals that the six federations shared €22m in the year to end June 2006. That is up from €17.5m in the previous year and the higher payout to the unions reflects a rise in revenues.

The revenues are shared across the Irish, English, French, Scottish, Welsh and Italian rugby unions according to how many teams they provide to the Heineken Cup and the European Challenge Cup. England and France get a higher share of the revenues.

According to the accounts, revenues rose to €26.4m from €21.3m in the previous year. A spokesman for the ERC said yesterday the rise in revenues reflects increase sponsorship, extra broadcast revenues and higher gate receipts.

The spokesman added that the new sponsors have come on board this year, including Ford, EDF Energy, Alice and Fed Ex, which will bolster the existing sponsorship agreement with Heineken.

The company broke even in the 12 months under review compared to a loss of €538,408 in the previous financial period. It had retained profits of €1.4m.

While the financial front is looking better for the Heineken Cup, its future in the current format is still far from certain.

A shareholders’ meeting to discuss the proposed pull-out by French clubs from the competition next year will be held in the coming weeks, which will also discuss the row in English rugby over how the revenue from the Heineken Cup is shared.

Premier Rugby, which represents the top flight English teams, is looking for the Rugby Football Union to hand over its stake in the ERC to the clubs.