World Rugby has signed Kingsley Beverages as a sponsor of the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022.
The company takes the position of Official Hydration Sponsor of the event, which will take place in Cape Town, South Africa from September 9 to September 11 next year.
Kingsley will supply its Isorade sports drink and Aquafria spring water to athletes throughout the tournament, with the products also available for purchase by fans in stadiums.
The company has its roots in South Africa, though it also has offices in the UAE, UK and the USA. Its deal with World Rugby is not the brand’s first foray into sports sponsorship, as it became Spanish football’s LaLiga’s first regional sponsor in South Africa in 2016.
The qualification process for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 was confirmed in May, with the top eight men’s teams and four women’s teams from Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 all qualified directly. The remaining teams will qualify via regional qualification tournaments which kicked off in November in South America and Asia. New Zealand won both the men’s and women’s editions of the event in 2018.
In March, South African agency Megapro was announced as the exclusive sponsorship sales agent for the event.
Lara Verbaan, sponsorship and strategy manager at Megapro, said at the time: “We have been pivotal in the commercial success of various aspects of the game locally and look forward to drawing on this rich experience and our vast global network, which includes the quintessential on and off field experience of ex-Springboks Sevens player Steven Hunt (Megapro sales manager), to ensure the commercial success of this event.”
World Rugby awarded hosting rights for the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens to South Africa back in October 2019. The award came after an initial record 11 unions – Argentina, Cayman Islands, France, Germany, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Qatar, Scotland, South Africa and Tunisia – expressed interest to World Rugby.
You need to have a subscription to access this content
