They plan to develop a Player Advisory Group together
United Rugby Championship and Jay-Z -founded Roc Nation join forces
The United Rugby Championship may face 99 problems, but perhaps marketing won’t be one – today the URC are celebrating a new “strategic consulting partnership” between their competition and rapper Jay-Z’s Roc Nation group ahead of the the big kick-off in September.
According to the competition’s official site, Roc Nation will help the league with the development of a Player Advisory Group, which should offer the athletes an avenue to make their opinions hear and play a part in developing strategies to promote and market of the league.
Roc Nation already have a footprint in South African rugby after the American consortium MVM Holdings – which counts Roc Nation as a partner – took over the Sharks franchise in Durban. Rugby stars Siya Kolisi, Cheslin Kolbe and Maro Itoje have also joined global sporting names like Kevin de Bruyne, Kyrie Irving, Romelu Lukaku, Leonard Fournette and Marcus Rashford on Roc Nation’s books.
URC chief Martin Anayi said of the partnership: “Roc Nation is at the cutting edge of sports, entertainment and culture, and we believe there’s no better partner to help us reach new audiences and develop new experiences for fans.
“We are looking forward to this partnership helping us achieve our ambitions of becoming a strong, purpose-led league where players and fans can have a voice and an influence. With an unparalleled network in the world of entertainment and a track record in building strong connections between sporting heroes and their communities this is an opportunity to build towards the ambitious future we have for the United Rugby Championship.
“We believe that rugby holds a unique inspirational quality and alongside Roc Nation our goal is to inspire the next generation of players and fans from all walks of life to keep growing the game.”
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