Qatar pulls out of hosting 2028 Nations Championship finals

Qatar will not host the finals of the 2028 Nations Championship, and the planned title sponsorship by Qatar Airways has been cancelled. The Guardian reports that the two sides have mutually agreed to withdraw from the hosting and sponsorship deal. The reason given is uncertainty caused by the war in the Middle East.

The Nations Championship is the international tournament for rugby union's leading men's teams, the sport's version of a league of nations. It was launched to give more purpose to the test schedule, the periods when national teams play each other. Its finals are the games that decide the event's showpiece.

Under the cancelled agreement, Qatar would have staged the six-match finals series in 2028 and 2032. The deal also included Qatar Airways as title sponsor for four editions, which would have put the airline's name on the tournament. The total value of the staging rights and title sponsorship was around £80m for each tournament held in Qatar, according to the Guardian. The airline's sponsorship share was worth £15m. Most of the value sat in the hosting rights.

That means the inaugural Nations Championship will go ahead without a title sponsor. The first finals weekend is set for 28 to 30 November at Twickenham, the home of England's men's team in London, Reuters reported when the tournament was unveiled. The finals will be played there in less than four weeks.

The search for a 2028 host is now under way. France and Spain have made informal expressions of interest. The organisers plan to issue an invitation to tender at the start of next year. A tender is a formal bidding process, where interested host countries submit their proposals. The Guardian says a 2028 finals event at the Stade de France in Paris is regarded as the most likely outcome, though that has not been confirmed.

Looking further ahead, the United States has been pencilled in to host the finals in 2030. That would be the year before the United States stages the 2031 Rugby World Cup, the sport's biggest tournament for national teams. The Guardian also reports that the Qatar agreement would have covered 2032, so that slot now needs rethinking too.

For fans, the immediate question is simple. The Twickenham finals will go ahead as planned, and the next step is a bidding process for 2028. Whoever wins the hosting rights will be asked to fill the gap that Qatar's exit has left, both in venue and in the money that came with it.