Rugby faces Middle Eastern takeover as World Cup sides ‘approached about deals’

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Rugby could be set for fresh Middle Eastern influence as Saudi Arabia and Qatar reportedly eye up investment deals with two World Cup sides. A venture into the sport would mark a new avenue for the region, which has already expanded its influence in football, boxing and golf over the past few years.

Middle Eastern funding is now a key component of the Premier League, and prominent Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani is leading a group of investors on a mission to take things to another level by acquiring Manchester United.

Lucrative boxing matches in Saudi Arabia are also commonplace, and Tyson Fury’s heavyweight bout with Oleksandr Usyk is set to take place in Riyadh. Meanwhile, the establishment of LIV has shaken up the golf landscape.

Now, The Daily Mail claim that Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund and Saudi investors have expressed an interest in significant rugby investment deals.

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The Wallabies are understood to have been approached by Qatar, with Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan saying: “I won’t confirm any specific counterparty discussions but we have had interest from the Middle East.”

McLennan’s South African counterpart, Mark Alexander, has declined to comment, but reports indicate that the Springboks have received an offer from Saudi.

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The unions of Australia and South Africa are believed to have held talks with American private equity firm CVC, who are keen to expand their sports portfolio but are yet to reach a final agreement. CVC already own stakes in the United Rugby Championship, the Premiership and the Six Nations.

The Springboks have already punched their ticket to the World Cup quarter-finals by taking second place, behind Ireland, in Pool B. And they will take solid momentum into their knockout clash with France after thrashing Tonga 49-18 last Sunday.

Australia, meanwhile, are in a spot of bother after suffering group stage defeats to Fiji and Wales. The last hope for Eddie Jones and co is Fiji failing to take a single point from Portugal in their final Pool C fixture.

A disastrous World Cup campaign had exposed Jones to fierce speculation over his future as Wallabies head coach, but Australian rugby bosses are reportedly committed to retaining the 63-year-old even if they crash out of the tournament.

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