How to Find Sponsors for a Rugby Club

To find sponsors for a rugby club, start with the people already in your clubhouse (parents of mini and junior players, former players who now run businesses, and the suppliers you already pay), then work out to the largest employers in your area. Sell rugby's own inventory, such as post protectors and match day lunches, priced for your level, and check the junior kit, media rights and tax rules first. For the general method, see our complete guide to finding sponsors.

What can a rugby club sell to sponsors?

A rugby club can sell far more than a shirt front: post and flag protectors, shoulder placements, training and warm-up tops, sub suits, the match ball, match days with pre-match lunch tables, player sponsorship, boards and the clubhouse bar. The RFU's asset list adds a painted pitch logo, player of the match, ground and stand naming, and separate men's and women's kit placements (RFU, What to Offer a Sponsor).

Some clubs also carry the main sponsor on every junior shirt, so the deal reaches hundreds of local families each weekend. Lymm RFC, for example, says over 400 junior shirts are worn from under-5s to under-18s (Lymm RFC sponsor pack 2024-25).

Here is what published packs from English clubs charge:

Sources: Lymm RFC, Sedgley Park Tigers, Broad Street RFC (league and VAT not stated).

To set your own prices, see how to value a sponsorship asset.

Who sponsors rugby clubs now?

Recent rugby deals come mainly from local heritage brands, business owners with a club connection, energy, insurance and catering:

• Morgan Motor Company, the Malvern car maker, became Worcester Warriors' front-of-shirt and title sponsor for 2025-26, the club's first season back in Champ Rugby after administration (City AM).
• Outfox Energy became Exeter Chiefs' men's front-of-shirt and training kit partner for 2026-27 (Exeter Chiefs).
• Connectus Business Solutions is Doncaster Knights' principal front-of-shirt sponsor through 2027-28. Its Group CEO, Roy Shelton, played at the club's Castle Park ground in the 1990s and helped build the clubhouse (Yorkshire Evening Post).
• Elior UK, a contract caterer, became title sponsor of Champ Rugby in a multi-year deal announced on 17 March 2026 (AGCC).
• Gallagher, the insurance broker, extended its Premiership Rugby title deal in September 2024 to run from 2025-26 to 2027-28 (Sportcal).

The audience is the pitch. Sky Media's 2024 rugby union profile says 65% of the audience is ABC1, and that viewers are 53% more likely to have a personal income of £75,000 or more (Sky Media). Pair that broadcaster figure with your own: Sedgley Park Tigers, for example, quotes 600 to 1,000 at first XV home games and about 300 registered youth players (Sedgley Park Tigers).

Where should a rugby club look for prospects?

Look inside the club first, then at suppliers, then at the biggest local employers. The RFU's sponsorship compendium recommends a network-first approach: committee, members, fans, family, especially parents of junior members, and Chamber of Commerce contacts (RFU Sponsorship Compendium, p. 41).

In rugby, that means four places to dig:

1. The mini and junior section. A big Sunday morning section is a list of local employers. Ask age-group coaches which parents run businesses or hold marketing budgets.
2. Former players. The Connectus deal at Doncaster shows that a sponsor can be someone who once played at the ground. Go through old team photos and alumni lists.
3. Lunch tables and vice-presidents. Business owners who already buy a table of 10 at pre-match lunches are your warmest leads for a bigger package.
4. Suppliers. The compendium suggests value-in-kind deals where the club already spends money, such as hotels, IT, AV and drinks (pp. 8, 15 to 16).

Then move to firms you do not know, starting with the largest local employers from council, Chamber or business network lists (p. 42).

Screen each one for reputation, sector fit, sponsorship history, marketing spend and audience overlap (p. 43). For the first message, see how to approach a sponsor for the first time.

Can you sell your women's team, minis and juniors separately?

Yes, and growth in the women's and girls' game makes them worth pricing as products in their own right. Broad Street RFC prices front of shirt at £3,000 for the men's and the women's team separately (Broad Street RFC).

The Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 in England sold 444,465 tickets, drew a world-record 81,885 for the final, and grew sponsorship revenue by 330% on the previous edition (UK Sport). Girls' club participation in age-grade rugby in England rose 49%, from 18,000 to 26,800, over the RFU's four-year Impact '25 programme (RugbyPass).

A separate women's or girls' package can attract a firm that would never buy the first XV shirt.

Which sponsors can't go on junior kit?

Alcohol and gambling brands should stay off kit and merchandise made for children. The Portman Group says drinks firms may sponsor a team where at least 75% of the team is 18 or over, and that children's clothing should not carry alcohol branding (Portman Group). The Gambling Commission notes the industry code keeps gambling logos off commercial merchandise designed for children, such as replica shirts (Gambling Commission). The ASA adds that under-25s must not play a significant role in alcohol ads (ASA).

This matters in rugby because the main sponsor can go on every junior shirt. A brewery, cider maker or bookmaker can still fit the clubhouse bar, first XV boards or adult match days, just not a package that puts their logo on the minis.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check the current codes and take advice before signing an alcohol or gambling sponsor.

When should a rugby club look for sponsors?

As a rule of thumb, pitch kit sponsors in the spring, so the deal is agreed before kit is ordered for a September start. Leeds Tykes' 2026-27 National League 1 fixtures, for example, start on 5 September 2026 and end on 17 April 2027, with no league fixtures between 19 December and 9 January (Leeds Tykes).

Two dates are worth building into your calendar:

• Champ Rugby on free-to-air TV. Nine fixtures run on BLAZE from 20 September to 22 November 2026 (Planet Rugby).
• Rugby World Cup 2027. It runs in Australia from 1 October to 13 November 2027 (World Rugby), which falls mid-season in England. Use it as a hook for 2027-28 deals, such as sponsored clubhouse screenings, without implying any official link to the tournament.

What do VAT, CASC and media rights rules mean for your club?

Sponsorship that gives the sponsor something back is a taxable supply, not a donation. HMRC's VAT manual says this applies where the club provides benefits such as publicity or use of its logo; simply listing a supporter's name is not a supply (HMRC VATSC03560). If your club is VAT registered, price packages "+ VAT". The registration threshold is £90,000 of taxable turnover over 12 months (GOV.UK).

For a Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC), HMRC says trading profits are exempt from corporation tax if trading turnover is under £50,000 a year (GOV.UK). Non-member trading and property income must not exceed £100,000 a year, or the club fails the income condition and can lose CASC status. Gift Aid applies only to gifts, not to payments for goods or services (both in HMRC CASC guidance). The RFU's tax pages agree that sponsorship receipts count as income (England Rugby). One large shirt deal can push a CASC towards those limits.

Media rights are the other trap. Under RFU Regulation 18, media rights in RFU competitions belong to the RFU unless expressly agreed otherwise, clubs cannot sell them, and the England Rose needs written approval (RFU Regulation 18). Before you sell a "stream" or "highlights" sponsorship of league matches, check with your league or the RFU.

This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Speak to your accountant, HMRC or the RFU about your club's position.

What does this look like in practice?

Take a hypothetical community rugby club in Regional 1 with a large mini and junior section. In March, its commercial volunteer lists 40 companies: 18 from parents in the junior section, 8 from former players, 6 suppliers the club already pays, and 8 of the largest employers within 15 miles. Two breweries go on a separate list for the bar and adult match days only.

The headline offer is a three-year package of post protectors, senior shirt sleeve and junior shirt fronts, priced against published packs at similar levels. A smaller girls' section package goes to firms that say no. Each prospect gets a short deck showing their logo on the club's posts, with follow-ups going first to those who opened it. The treasurer checks VAT and CASC limits before signing.

How Sportworks helps

In our view, Sportworks is the quickest way for a small rugby commercial team to show every name on the list their brand on your inventory.

• Designs puts a prospect's logo on photos of your own kit, post protectors, boards and signage, with set logo placements and matching colour, sizing and perspective. See our guide to sponsorship mockups.
• Scale lets you select several brands or a whole industry, such as every engineering firm in your county, and generate personalised pitch assets for every prospect in one run, with batch download and team sharing.
• Decks turns your existing PowerPoint or PDF into a template and builds personalised decks with visuals, inventory and pricing. Deck tracking adds open notifications, per-viewer analytics and a slide-by-slide heatmap.
• Studio and Video create activation visuals and short clips, such as a sponsor-branded mini rugby festival or a post-match social clip.

Sportworks reports 10x faster production, a 50% cost reduction, 3x more conversions and an average payback of under 30 days from first use, based on its aggregated client data (Sportworks customers). As MK Dons' Chief Commercial Officer puts it: "It lets us show a prospect exactly what their brand looks like on our inventory before they've even signed." Current customers are mainly in football and motorsport, plus rugby league's Sydney Roosters.

Showcase, coming soon, will let you send a prospect an interactive 3D version of your ground with their brand in place. Sportworks is not a CRM: it is built for the pitch, and sponsor management and reporting are on the roadmap.

Rugby club sponsorship FAQs

How much should a community rugby club charge for a shirt sponsor?

It depends on your level and reach. The packs quoted above range from £3,000 for a front of shirt at Broad Street RFC (VAT not stated) to £25,000 a year ex VAT for Lymm RFC's main kit deal, which includes more than 400 junior shirts.

Can a brewery sponsor our junior rugby kit?

Not on kit made for children, under Portman Group guidance. A brewery can still sponsor the bar, adult match days or first XV boards. This is not legal advice.

Is a sponsor's payment a donation for Gift Aid?

Not if the sponsor gets something back, such as a logo, board or hospitality. HMRC says Gift Aid applies only to gifts, not to payments for goods or services.

Do we charge VAT on rugby sponsorship?

If your club is VAT registered and the sponsor receives benefits such as advertising, HMRC treats it as a taxable supply. This is not tax advice; check with your accountant.

Show every prospect their logo on your posts

If building mockups and decks is eating your volunteers' evenings, book a 30-minute Sportworks demo to see personalised pitch assets made from your own kit and ground photos. You can also see pricing.