Scottish Rugby is delighted to announce today that it has secured a long-term, multi-million pounds deal with global communications and broadcasting giant BT.

The four-year partnership, unveiled at the home of Scottish Rugby this afternoon, sees BT

• Secure the naming rights for Murrayfield Stadium, which becomes BT Murrayfield Stadium.
• Become sponsor of the Scotland 7s side from the outset of the 2014-15 HSBC Sevens World Series.
• Become principal and exclusive sponsor of Scotland’s domestic league and cup competitions from next season.
• Become sponsor of Scottish Rugby’s four new academies which will drive forward standards for young players who have aspirations to play professionally.

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Unprecedented

“This is a momentous day for Scottish Rugby,” declared the union’s chief executive Mark Dodson.  “We are very proud to bring BT back into our family of sponsors on a size and scale that is unprecedented both for Scottish Rugby and, we believe, Scottish sport.”

“While the headlines may be dominated by the naming rights of the stadium, today’s announcement underlines BT’s alignment to our own values and goals, particularly that rugby clubs are the heart and soul of their communities that offer a welcome to all, young and old, boys and girls, men and women.”

“This new funding underlines our desire to deliver more opportunities for young people to take up our game and broaden the reach of rugby across Scotland.”

“We will invest the monies that we receive from BT alongside the revenues that come from our other partners to continue our plan to grow the game of rugby throughout Scotland and deliver against our strategic plan and our recent policy paper initiatives, in particular the establishment of a robust academy structure and to enhance the standard of club rugby.”

Global brand

Scottish Rugby’s Director of Commercial Operations, Communications and Public Affairs, Dominic McKay, said: “We are delighted to have secured such a renowned and respected global partner.  BT recognises the importance and the rich heritage associated with Murrayfield and Scottish Rugby.”

“In branding our home, the BT Murrayfield Stadium it reiterates our joint view that the name of the home of Scottish rugby that has been synonymous with the game in our country since 1925 had to be retained.”

“BT is a massive global brand, which we’ve worked with before as sponsor of our domestic league and cup competitions between 1999 and 2006.  We also have the pleasure of working with BT Sport, which began its relationship with us at the start of this season, as it sponsors both Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby.”

“To secure a deal of this nature for the first time in our history means a huge amount for Scottish Rugby, as it will deliver very positively for us for years to come to enable us to continue to invest in our game throughout Scotland.”

“I wish to place on record our thanks to RBS for their tremendous support of our domestic competitions and the Scotland 7s squad over the last three years and very much look forward to continuing to work with them as national team sponsor. We will be working closely with BT and their staff throughout Scotland in the coming months as we bring this new relationship to life.”

Positive development

Donald Macleod, president of the Scottish Rugby Union, welcomed today’s announcement. He said: “Congratulations to the executive team on securing such a great deal for the whole of Scottish rugby. From Stornoway in the north to Selkirk in the south, this welcome investment comes as a very positive development for the entire game.”

John Petter, chief executive, BT Consumer, said “We’re delighted to be announcing this partnership today, furthering the relationship between BT Sport and Scottish Rugby’s pro-clubs, to support and grow the game in Scotland.”

Brendan Dick, director BT Scotland, said: “BT is at the heart of Scotland providing communications for the nation and rolling out fibre broadband and we are delighted to be further extending our partnership with Scottish Rugby which sits at the heart of communities across Scotland.  The growth and scale of this partnership demonstrates our commitment to Scottish Rugby.

“BT will build on this partnership to expand its support for communities across Scotland, with the roll-out of high-speed fibre broadband making a real difference – particularly in rural areas; we’ll see sport and technology working hand-in-hand.”

BT joins Scottish Rugby’s official partners RBS; Macron, Caledonia Best, Ginger Grouse, Guinness, Dove Men +Care, Spire healthcare, sportscotland, Cashback for Communities,  Peter Vardy and viagogo.