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rugby-european championship
Georgia, Spain, Romania and Portugal they signed a memorandum of understanding and established the IV Nations Alliance, an initiative aimed at shared sustainable growth and a more ambitious future.
Georgia’s David Kacharava, Romania’s Alin Petrache, Spain’s Juan Carlos Martín Sánchez and Portugal’s Carlos Amado da Silva met in Tbilisi on September 29 to commit to a joint agreement to transform rugby in these countries, starting with the commercial, high-performance and competitive sector.
The Alliance will promote close cooperation through the exchange of information and best practices, joint training and coaching programs and a range of joint initiatives, encouraging a truly cooperative approach to rugby development.
However, the new alliance’s plan also includes proposing competitive changes to international calendars that could allow development beyond what has been experienced so far.
Georgia, Portugal, Spain and Romania have dominated most of Europe’s domestic rugby competitions, with Spain currently participating in all major world men’s and women’s competitions, both in 15s and 7s. Despite the latest developments at the international level, the nations of the IV Alliance agreed that more could be done at every level and would work to find new ways forward.
The former Lelos center and now president of the Georgian Rugby Union expressed his delight that the four rivals have come together to form a joint alliance.
“We now have a bigger and stronger voice to continue to move forward.”
For Spain’s Juan Carlos Martín Sánchez, improved cooperation and shared growth are among the alliance’s most important opportunities, paving the way for a stronger future for the four participating countries.
“We are very pleased to have reached an agreement that will facilitate the transformation process we have embarked on.”
The IV Alliance will operate under the leadership of World Rugby and Rugby Europe, working closely with both organizations to improve the quality of rugby and encourage participation in the four countries. The partnership comes at a historic moment, with Georgia, Romania, Spain and Portugal competing in the men’s event Rugby World Cup at the same time for the first time.