European rugby confirm plans for Club World Cup

European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) confirmed on Saturday that it plans to start a Club World Cup in 2028.

The body runs the Champions Cup and second-tier Challenge Cup, which both contain clubs from South Africa as well as Europe.

It would provide eight clubs for the global competition. Seven would come from Super Rugby and another from Japan.

The tournament would take place in June 2028 and then every four years, but the project has yet to be rubber-stamped by Super Rugby, which is made up of teams from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, and the Japanese league.

"We've had some great discussions over the course of the weekend talking about the future of our sport and particularly some exciting projects that relate to EPCR," the body's Dominic McKay said.

"One of those projects is the Rugby World Club Cup.

"This is something we've spoken about at EPCR for the last two or three years.

"We've been trying to work our way through this project to see if we can deliver it," he added before Saturday's Champions Cup final between Northampton and Bordeaux-Begles in Cardiff.

BUSY CALENDAR

The Club World Cup would add to an already busy club calendar, with France's Top 14 usually running from early September to late-June.

"We'll be sharing more information over the course of the summer, and we'll do that in conjunction with our friends from the south.

"To reassure everyone, we've thought about this from a player's perspective, from a fan's perspective, and from a future fan's perspective.

"It promises to be absolutely box office," he added.