World Rugby has announced a proposed $10 billion investment that the organisation hopes will lead to more support of the Nations Championship concept.
Yesterday, the proposed tournament appeared to be heading for the scrapheap amid widespread opposition.
The European rugby powers also favoured accepting an offer of $963m (£500m) from private equity company CVC Capital for a 30 per cent stake in the Six Nations, NZ Herald reports.
However, World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont put out a statement after a series of meetings in Dublin.
"At the meeting of unions, competition owners and international player representatives, World Rugby outlined details of a game-changing competition model that delivers a true pathway for all unions through a three-division format and a system of promotion and relegation.”
"The proposed format would be underpinned by a record commercial partnership with leading global sports marketing company Infront, guaranteeing almost £5billion ($9.7 billion) for investment in the sport over an initial 12-year period (of which more than £1.5b ($2.9 billion) is guaranteed incremental revenue for the world game).
The statement said the business model covers media and marketing rights but no equity in the competition is up for sale meaning “full control of the competition and its revenue redistribution model would be retained by the unions, the current major competitions and World Rugby."
Ireland and Scotland are believed to be strongly opposed to promotion-relegation between the three tiers while France has already announced its support for Nations Championship with Wales is also believed to back the proposal, NZ Herald reports.
The proposal would see World Rugby partner with Infront, a Swiss-based company with 1000 staff in 14 countries.
Philippe Blatter, the nephew of disgraced former FIFA boss Sepp, is the company’s president and chief executive, NZ Herald reported.
World Rugby also made a pledge to invest in a women's Nations Championship.
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