EPCR chairman Dominic McKay has confirmed that Cape Town is among the cities competing to stage either of the Champions and Challenge Cup finals in 2025 or 2026.
Cape Town’s enthusiasm for rugby has been evident, as the 55,000-capacity DHL Stadium is sold out for the Vodacom United Rugby Championship decider between title-holders, the DHL Stormers, and Ireland’s Munster next week.
Leinster and La Rochelle are set to lock horns in the 2023 Champions Cup showpiece at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, 24 hours after the Challenge Cup decider will witness a battle between the Glasgow Warriors and Toulon in Dublin.
McKay revealed to reporters at a EPCR media roundtable on Thursday that interest in hosting the pinnacle of European club rugby outside of Europe was high, with South Africa and the USA also in contention.
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“We’re in the midst of a process at the moment. We have launched a process of expressions of interest from the rugby family and beyond for 2025 and 2026 finals,” he said.
“We’ve been genuinely blown away by the level of interest, both from across Europe but also across South Africa and into the United States as well.”
“I was down in South Africa at the back end of last year and I was petitioned quite hard by the mayor of Cape Town [Geordin Hill-Lewis] and the government to think about bringing a final to South Africa,” McKay added.
“It was really pleasing to hear the level of interest and enthusiasm. I’m sure as part of our big process for 2025 and 2026, we may well see some great bids from countries like South Africa coming to the fore.
“The process is underway and we’re keen to encourage great bids from across the world and it’s pleasing to see the variety from different locations coming in.
“We’re in Dublin this year and we’re in Tottenham next year, which will really be exciting. But we are on a mission to take our finals to new locations.”
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