Not the Champions Cup. Not the Heineken Cup. Not far away from either.
After four years of calling the Heineken Cup the ‘Champions Cup’ we are going for a hybrid.
The beer company is back as title partner to the European Cup competition from the start of next season and the continent’s top 20 teams will be playing for the Heineken Champions Cup.
As flagged here two weeks ago, the Dutch company are back as the tournament’s main sponsor after pen was put to paper on a four-year deal.
The Champions Cup era began in 2014/15 and the first three trophies were shared by Toulon and Saracens. Leinster brought the stint to an end by defeating Racing 15-12 in Bilbao for their fourth European Cup title.
As part of the release announcing the news, the EPCR state:
‘The tournament will be more accessible than ever to supporters from next season with live free-to-air broadcasts taking the matches to new audiences in the United Kingdom and Ireland (Channel 4 and TV3 respectively) in addition to the move to a single pay-TV broadcaster (BT Sport) in those territories with the possibility of an extra live free-to-air match per round on France Télévisions to complement beIN SPORTS’ continued coverage in France.
The tournament’s global reach has also been enhanced by the recent agreement with NBC Sports as rights-holding broadcasters in the USA.’
“We have substantially developed the Champions Cup over the past four seasons,” says EPCR chief executive Vincent Gaillard, “and it is fitting that at such an exciting time for the tournament, we welcome back a world-leading brand in Heineken.”
The 2018/19 final will take place in Newcastle while the revamped White Hart Lane [home of Tottenham] and Marseilles Stade Velodrome are said to be in contention for the 2020 final. Amsterdam, home of Heineken, has been tipped to host the 2021 final.
The pool draw for the newly-titled tournament will take place in Lausanne on 20 June (2pm).
So, in conclusion, it’s the HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP. Simple.
