dublin, eire – World Rugby in the present day confirmed it has signed a significant multi-year broadcast take care of CANAL+ Group, additional strengthening rugby’s international attain and accelerating the expansion of the game throughout Africa.
Below the settlement, followers throughout sub-Saharan Africa will be capable of watch the 2027 Males’s Rugby World Cup and 2029 Girls’s Rugby World Cup in Australia dwell on SuperSport on DStv.
The partnership types a part of World Rugby’s technique to develop entry and consciousness of its flagship competitors, guaranteeing rugby’s largest international occasion conjures up and attracts new audiences in high-growth markets.
The 2027 Males’s Rugby World Cup will usher in a brand new period for the game. The event, which will likely be held in Australia from October 1 to November 13, 2027, will develop to 24 groups for the primary time and introduce a spherical of 16 knockout stage, creating extra alternatives for rising nations and extra significant matches for followers around the globe.
For Africa, the implications will likely be vital. Defending champions South Africa intention to make historical past by successful the Rugby World Cup for the fifth time, whereas Zimbabwe’s qualification returns the Sabers to rugby’s largest stage for the primary time since 1991, underscoring the continued improvement of rugby throughout the area.
Within the girls’s recreation, the 2029 Girls’s Rugby World Cup in Australia will likely be held with unprecedented momentum. The event follows the record-breaking 2025 event, which set new benchmarks for attendance, viewership and fan engagement, and noticed South Africa grow to be the primary African workforce to achieve the quarter-finals of the Girls’s Rugby World Cup.
The settlement additionally contains protection for main World Rugby competitions, together with the World Rugby Junior World Championship, which has now expanded to 16 groups, and the Pacific Nations Cup, additional rising worldwide avenues and visibility for the elite competitors.
Michel Pousseau, World Rugby Chief Income Officer, stated: “We’re delighted to accomplice with CANAL+ Group to ship complete, high-quality protection of rugby’s premier worldwide competitions throughout Africa, together with two distinctive Rugby World Cups to be hosted in Australia in 2027 and 2029. This settlement is a big step in the direction of increasing the attain of the sport and enabling followers throughout the continent to look at, comply with and have interaction extra deeply with rugby. We’ll work carefully with the CANAL+ workforce to deliver the game nearer to audiences and encourage the following technology of gamers and followers in Africa.”
David Mignot, CEO of CANAL+ Africa, stated: “By confirming these broadcast rights, we, because the CANAL+ Group, will Alongside the Group, we’ve secured the rights to broadcast quite a lot of main rugby tournaments for our subscribers, and that is one other nice alternative for us to place our subscribers first by guaranteeing they by no means miss out on the very best sporting content material from throughout the continent and around the globe. We might additionally wish to thank our accomplice World Rugby, who we will likely be working carefully with to ship these thrilling matches.” Convey tournaments to life. ”
The settlement additionally displays the rising significance of Africa as a strategic marketplace for rugby, pushed by elevated participation, elevated competitiveness at elite stage and robust viewer demand for premium rugby content material.
