The news broke on Monday morning of discussions regarding a Club World Cup in the place of the current European competitions. EPCR have since given a statement on the current state of affairs.
Robert Rees brings you the latest on the proposal.
Club World Cup proposal
Much like football, there is a want from some upper echelons of the game for a worldwide competition, pitting the best of the major league teams against each other.
The current proposal in discussions is that six teams would qualify from Super Rugby, four teams each from England, France and the Pro14 competitions, plus the league champions from Japan and the United States.
The competition would be held over a seven week period every year in a format similar to that of the World Cup, in terms of the pool stages.
The space would be created in the calendar by scrapping the much cherished European tournaments.
Bernard Laporte, president of the French Rugby Association has brought up the talks with RFU CEO Bill Sweeney and the presidents of each Top14 club.
EPCR respond
EPCR, the governing body of European rugby, have responded to the discussions saying;
“EPCR has noted today’s media reports regarding a proposal for an annual Club World Cup.
“Discussions have already taken place on an official level between EPCR and its shareholders regarding a global club tournament which could complement the Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup and which could take place once every four years. Work on possible formats is ongoing with a collaborative approach and issues of player welfare to the fore.
“EPCR does not believe it appropriate to highlight such discussions while the public health crisis due to COVID-19 continues, and currently, the organisation’s focus is on attempting to reschedule the knockout stages of the 2019/20 tournaments subject to government and local authority directives.”
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