The Scottish Rugby Union or the SRU has confirmed a new deal with broadcast giants BT that will see them become the principal sponsors for all the teams in Scotland Rugby, including the men’s and women’s national teams.
The three year deal is expected to bring about yet another new kit for the national teams when the deal kicks in this July, signalling the end of a four year long association with the Royal Bank of Scotland or the RBS Group that will now become the official banking partner of Scottish Rugby.
BT has been slowly and steadily making its presence felt in Scotland Rugby for some time now. First, they signed an agreement to become the shirt sponsors for Edinburgh Rugby and the Glasgow Warriors, the country’s only two professional teams in 2013 and followed it up by acquiring the naming rights for the national stadium Murrayfield.
A new deal also saw BT become the new sponsors of the country’s domestic league and cup tournaments and the three regional academies run by the SRU.
BT already sponsors the Rugby Sevens team of Scotland and this new deal will see them have a monopoly over all the national teams, including the three age groups teams as well. The Scotland Under-20 side will become the first national team to sport the new outfit bearing the new sponsor’s name when they kick of their campaign in the World Rugby Under-20 Championship this June.
Dominick McKay, the director of commercial operations of the SRU said that this new deal with BT delights him. He added that with this huge investment coming from BT to Scotland Rugby, fans can get excited that things are about to change for the good and this might just be the start of better things to come for the long suffering fans.