The Altrad Group, which sells and hires out equipment for the building and construction industry, has signed a long-term jersey sponsorship deal with the French Rugby Federation (FFR) following a successful trial period.
The FFR said that the extended deal has been approved after its Ethics Committee deemed that there would be no conflict of interest. In August, it was reported that FFR president Bernard Laporte had business ties with the Altrad Group, whose chairman, Mohed Altrad, owns French Top 14 club Montpellier.
According to French newspaper L'Équipe, the new five-year deal will run until 2023 and will be worth €35m ($41.8m).
In March 2017, Altrad signed a short-term deal to have its branding appear on the front of the French national team’s shirts. That deal ran until November 15 and was designed to support France’s ultimately successful bid for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. The FFR had previously announced that it would market the permanent rights to the shirt from 2018 onwards, and a long-term deal with Altrad has now been signed.
The FFR said that the funds generated from the partnership will be dedicated to the development of amateur rugby in France.
France was the only major rugby-playing nation in the world that did not have a shirt sponsor before the initial Altrad deal was signed last year.