RFU considers selling Twickenham naming rights

Rugby Union chiefs are prepared to sign a high-profile sponsor for the stadium as they look to boost commercial revenues ahead of the next Rugby World Cup in England.

Any deal for the naming rights to Twickenham, which will host the World Cup’s final, will result in the sponsor’s branding being banned during the World Cup because of rules excluding advertising from rival sponsors within tournament venues.

The deal would see the sponsor join the RFU’s current roster of commercial partners including O2, QBE, SSE, Lucozade Sport and Maximuscle.

Several Premier League clubs have sold their naming right to sponsors in recent years as a way of boosting their commercial revenues. However the strategy has been adopted less in rugby. Earlier this year, German financial firm Allianz became Rugby Union club Saracen’s naming rights partner.

The reports come just weeks after Rugby union club Harlequins announced that will make commercial revenues its main source of income in a bid to exploit the increased interest in rugby hosting the World Cup is expected to generate.

After this article was published a spokeswoman refused to rule out the possibility of the venue’s naming rights being sold ahead of the tournament, but told Marketing Week that there are “no current or future plans to sell naming rights to the stadium.”