PRO14 CEO MARTIN Anayi says they are working ‘furiously’ to move the kick-off time of their 26 May final to avoid clashing with the Champions League final.
The deciding game of the Pro14 season is pencilled in to kick off at 18.30 on Sky Sports, just 75 minutes before Liverpool and Real Madrid begin their European football final in Kiev on BT Sport.
If Munster can defeat Edinburgh in Thomond Park tomorrow, then there will be guaranteed Irish interest in the Pro14 final. But with Liverpool also boasting a strong fanbase on these shores, the prospect of making floating supporters choose isn’t one Anayi is ready to embrace.
“With anything, you want to make sure you don’t cannibalise your audience,” Anayi said yesterday after eir Sport announced a three-year deal to broadcast the Pro14.
“So if people are saying that’s a really important game, and Liverpool in the Champions League final is, then should we talk to Sky and our broadcasters asking to move it forward a bit?
“Can we move kick-off a bit to get it in before a Champions League final? Can we send everyone then to our fanzones where there are big screens? Maybe we can do that. That’s what we’re furiously trying to arrange at the moment.”
Less than a year on from expanding the once-Celtic League to 14 teams and a new hemisphere, the prospect of American teams joining the Pro14 is not currently a runner. More pertinent to the competition is whether South African teams can become eligible for European tournaments.
Under the current qualification criteria, the Cheetahs cannot take up a place in next season’s Champions Cup and so their place instead goes to Cardiff Blues, who finished seven points behind them in Pro14 Conference A.
Anayi hopes to convince stakeholders across the EPCR to welcome another player into Champions and Challenge Cup tournaments in the coming years, but the 2019/20 season is already too soon.
“You’ve got to look slightly further ahead than that. We’ve got people to convince. We’re not the only people who play in that competition, there are lots of different stakeholders. But if we can convince them that it’s good for them, not just for our league, then we’ve a pretty good shot of it happening in the not too distant future.”
Anayi echoed the sentiment of outgoing Cheetahs boss Rory Duncan who felt South African clubs would have to make their case for European involvement by regularly making their way to the knockout stage of the Pro14. Duncan’s side have held up their end of the bargain as they land in Wales today for a knockout clash with Scarlets, and the hope is that the Kings can present as a steadier ship after a difficult season in the new league.
“When there’s no promotion/relegation, European qualification is our jeopardy. I don’t think it will be too long before that conversation comes up at the top table to bring South Africans in,” adds Anayi.
“Whether that’s called ‘Europe’ anymore is another thing, the Russians are already playing in it. I just think it would be a really sensible way forward, because we’ve spent quite a lot of time and energy making a meritocracy.
“Europe, over the next few years, where are they going to grow? I’d say South Africa’s a pretty good place to start.”
