The United Rugby Championship confirmed on Wednesday that the South African Rugby Union has become the league’s sixth shareholder, joining the Irish, Italian, Scottish, and Welsh rugby unions, along with CVC Capital Partners, as shareholders in Pro Rugby Championship DAC, the company that operates the league.

SA Rugby’s relationship with the competition dates back to 2018 when the Toyota Cheetahs and Southern Kings joined the PRO14. In 2021, the launch of the Vodacom URC introduced the Lions, DHL Stormers, Hollywoodbets Sharks, and Vodacom Bulls.

Since then, the Vodacom URC has achieved significant growth across broadcast audiences, digital engagement, and match attendances, with SA Rugby and its teams playing a pivotal role in that success.

Martin Anayi, United Rugby Championship CEO, said: “There is no doubt about the hugely positive impact South African rugby has had on our league, and confirmation of their addition as a shareholder was always part of the roadmap. In 2018 and again in 2021, South African rugby showed vision and courage in reshaping where their teams competed, and this milestone is a testament to that foresight.

“From a fan’s perspective, nothing changes. But from a business standpoint, our URC team will now work even more closely with South African teams, partners, broadcasters, and stakeholders to continue elevating the league. This alignment across both hemispheres will create day-to-day efficiencies and open the door to exploring new ideas at a faster pace.

“On behalf of our chairman, David Lynn, and the rest of our board, we extend our thanks to Rian Oberholzer, Mark Alexander, and the team at SA Rugby for reaching this point. Our five territories remain fully committed to the URC’s vision, and we look forward to building on the successes of the past four years.”

Rian Oberholzer, CEO of SA Rugby, said: “This is red letter day for South African rugby and marks the completion of a journey that began eight years ago when we first contemplated a northern hemisphere future. There have been doubters over the years but the vision we shared with Martin Anayi and the URC team has now come to pass and we look forward to growing the competition as full partners with our colleagues in the north.

“The competition has gone from strength-to-strength and with four different winners in the first four seasons of our participation it has proved itself as arguably the most competitive league in rugby. It has been good for our rugby and we look forward to many more years of success.”

The URC and SA Rugby would also like to express their immense gratitude to the league’s key commercial stakeholders in South Africa – title sponsors Vodacom, broadcast partners SuperSport as well as Qatar Airways, SA Breweries and OUTsurance – whose support has helped change the game.