Rugby's Ten Biggest Unions Pool Rights Into One Sales Agency

The Six Nations and Sanzaar unions have agreed to sell their media and commercial rights collectively for the first time, according to reports published on 4 November 2026. The arrangement creates a new company to run the Nations Championship and a separate rights management agency to sell the commercial rights of competitions including the Six Nations, British and Irish Lions tours, Rugby Championship, Nations Championship and Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series. The ten founding unions are England, Ireland, France, Wales, Scotland, Italy, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina.

The new company will be overseen by a chief executive and a board made up of two co-chairs and the CEOs of the ten founder unions, the Independent reported. The Guardian reported that the sales process will be managed by a new rights management agency set up by a ten-person board created to run the Nations Championship. The New Zealand Herald reported that the company has provisionally been called F10, reflecting the ten founding unions, and that a dedicated chief executive will be appointed with a brief focused on commercial exploitation.

The revenue-sharing model is reciprocal. The Guardian reported that southern hemisphere nations will receive a share of profits from the Six Nations and British and Irish Lions tours, while European countries will benefit from broadcast and sponsorship deals generated by the Rugby Championship and the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series between New Zealand and South Africa. The Guardian described the arrangement as the first of its kind in sport.

The new arrangements are expected to affect sponsorship and commercial deals from 2028, which coincides with the second edition of the Nations Championship, the Guardian reported. TV rights sales will not be affected until two years later, because all Six Nations and Sanzaar broadcast rights are secured until 2029. The Guardian reported that the next TV rights cycle, from 2030, will see the Six Nations, Rugby Championship and Nations Championship sold together, with bespoke packages also available to create more competition.

The Independent reported that the 2028 Nations Championship finals will no longer be held in Qatar as originally intended, with a sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways off the table. France, Spain and England are among those understood to be interested in hosting instead, according to the Independent. The New Zealand Herald reported that Qatar will not host the 2028 finals owing to the conflict in the Middle East, and that France and Spain have expressed interest while returning to Twickenham's Allianz Stadium is another possibility.

The Independent reported that it is not yet clear whether promotion and relegation will remain part of the Nations Championship plans, having been due to come in for the 2030 edition. The New Zealand Herald reported that promotion and relegation, which was supposed to be a founding principle when the tournament was backed by a World Rugby council meeting in 2023, will not apply to the F10 nations. A World Rugby review group chaired by Brett Robinson is looking at how promotion and relegation can be set up, according to Sweeney in the Herald.

The New Zealand Herald reported that Japan and Fiji have been invited to take part in the inaugural tournament as guest nations but will only receive a participation fee rather than a slice of central commercial income. The Guardian reported that commercial and media rights for the Nations Championship are already sold collectively and revenue is shared between the ten founding members, with Fiji and Japan given much smaller appearance fees. The Herald framed the pooling of North and South commercial rights as a power grab that will further entrench the financial dominance of the ten unions.

The Independent reported that the inaugural Nations Championship concludes this November with a finals weekend at Twickenham's Allianz Stadium. The Guardian reported that the tournament resumes this weekend. The Independent reported that all of England's home matches in November are sold out, with ticket sales also going well for the Saturday and Sunday of finals weekend, though there is some concern over the attendance of the Friday double-header. Sweeney said the pool matches are sold out and France have sold out too, according to the Independent.