IT WAS ONLY a matter of time before rugby got in on the act.
Sports have almost been racing to get their hands on money in the Middle East. World Rugby had already brought 7s to the UAE but now, the URC has signed a sponsorship deal with Qatar. They have pointed out that the contract was signed with Qatar Airways, but the airline is state-owned so that reasoning doesn’t really wash.
The new deal with Qatar was the hot topic of conversation at yesterday’s URC launch in London, with the Qatar Airways branding on display as players from the various provinces and clubs looked ahead to the new season.
The URC’s announcement yesterday drew plenty of criticism. That was no surprise given the major concerns that the likes of Amnesty International have raised about human rights in Qatar.
Reports suggest that more than 6,500 migrant workers have died in Qatar in the past decade. Amnesty International says women in Qatar are discriminated against both in law and practice. They point out that same-sex sexual conduct between men in Qatar is punishable by up to seven years in prison.
Among other things, one has to wonder how LGBTQ+ players and employees at the URC clubs feel about this new connection with Qatar. Leinster’s Nick McCarthy received widespread support for coming out publicly in June, including from the URC.
Martin Anayi, the URC’s chief executive, was asked yesterday if the URC had had any qualms about the new sponsorship in light of concerns such as the death of construction workers in Qatar.
Anayi suggested that the URC can help to drive positive change in Qatar.
“The question around the workers in the stadiums, we’ve had conversations around it and it’s really important to us that sport is a way of communicating proper values,” said Anayi.
“Rugby is new to Doha, to Qatar, they’re really interested in the values of rugby, in that team ethos and what they could potentially look at as communicating things that they are interested in doing, the community aspect.
“We’ve delved into it, it’s a good platform to be vocal and we want people to say their opinion. We want to use it in a positive way.”
It does seem a big stretch to suggest that rugby’s ‘values’ will be able to change the modus operandi of a nation.
But Anayi claims that sport can have a positive impact.
“I lived in the Middle East for many years, my Dad is an Arab. The culture is very different out there, he’s married to an Irish lady – I’m half-Irish – and through western concepts becoming more and more prevalent in the Middle East, I think it’s a good thing – personally I’ve lived through it.
“I think sport is a key part of that, you can see that in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, you can see that in UAE, and definitely in Qatar.”
It remains to be seen how the relationship with Qatar develops. It’s clear that Qatar is keen to host rugby games in Doha in the future but Anayi said the URC would take “baby steps” first.
That could mean pre-season fixtures being played in Qatar or clubs heading there for training camps. Anayi mentioned the air-conditioned facilities in Doha, but then there are the big concerns that Qatar has the sixth highest greenhouse gas emissions per capita globally, according to Human Rights Watch.
“It’s very unlikely it’ll be a competitive URC game, but you could imagine pre-season or exhibition games being played there,” said Anayi.
“European rugby is not my call, I sit as one of a number of people on the EPCR board. There might be more opportunity around European Cup or Challenge Cup games, but it’s unlikely URC.”
Anayi was keen to stress how the link with Qatar Airways will help with travel to and from South Africa for URC games but he said clubs won’t be forced to use the carrier.
“If players and coaches and teams don’t want to go by Doha, they don’t have to.”
