In an exciting first for regional rugby the newly named ‘West Asia Super Rugby’, formerly West Asia Premiership, will be streamed live and free across the globe.

In the inaugural year, 18 (of a scheduled 47) matches will be broadcast on a free live stream sports app platform; Sportainment which is available for free download for IOS and Android from both Apple App store and Google play.

Jeff O’Brien, co-founder Sportainment said;

“Sportainment will broadcast, globally, one game per week, which is the ‘feature’ game of the round, and in total 15 conference games and then three finals games totalling 18 games for the season which starts October 4 through to mid-April 2025.”

O’Brien shared the broadcast will be made up of 8 cameras, with high quality lenses, and feature slow-motion replays, TMO and miked up referees, while player and coach interviews will give the fans an inside view of the popular regional teams and how they prepare. The show will be opened by a host who will be joined by knowledgeable, local pundits and commentators to give a ‘full’ fan experience for those watching on the Sportainment app. The experience, available on the non-geo-restricted app, will be enhanced by in-app detailed player profiles, analytics and match-stats.

Faisal Al Zarooni, UAE Rugby Federation board member and President’s advisor said; “Rugby in the UAE and regionally has grown significantly over the past 5 years, and our
national teams now compete in the top 3 in Asia and are vying for qualification for the Rugby World Cup 2028.”

“This investment will provide a new focus and energy for the top level of rugby in the region”

“The support and investment from Sportainment is a significant step in the journey towards a more commercially sound and sustainable model to continue to develop a more professional structure and pathway for our national team through the local clubs. This investment will provide a new focus and energy for the top level of rugby in the region, and grow the fan base, which in turn will develop commercial support from the live stream of such a high-quality production. UAE Rugby welcomes the commitment from Sportainment to create this high-quality broadcast which will shine a light on the game.” added Al Zarooni.

“The UAE Rugby Federation, and the clubs, have done an amazing job to grow the game of rugby in the region which includes the UAE, Doha and Bahrain. The missing piece to make the game fully sustainable has been the top-down approach which is a professional rugby (union) league across the borders from UAE to Doha and Bahrain. Sportainment recognises the gap in this local/regional market to host broadcast of amateur sport, in this case rugby, with high quality production and engaging content and stories through the application, in turn growing the fan base which then feeds revenue into the ecosystem of rugby in the region through the federation and clubs. Our team is energised and excited to bring the top tier of regional rugby to the fans in the GCC and abroad.” added O’Brien.

While the series kicks-off on Friday October 4, the first broadcast match will be aired on Saturday 5th October with Abu Dhabi Harlequins playing Jebel Ali Dragons at Zayed Sports City, Abu Dhabi. Matt Born, Director Operations Rugby Clubs’ Consortium said: “The Broadcasting of rugby can only benefit rugby in the region. Great player exposure, greater sponsor exposure. It is fundamental to the future development of the game. Our players deserve to be showcased and in the spotlight. The quality we have in the UAE is continually growing; the UAE is one of the most attractive places in the world for young people. It only makes sense that young rugby players want to be here, to play here, and to be seen.”

“I encourage every single person out there with an interest in rugby to get behind it”

“Rugby has been in amateur status here since before the Country was founded. Publicly available broadcasting is the only way to take the game from amateur to professional. I applaud everyone who has gotten involved to make this happen, and I encourage every single person out there with an interest in rugby to get behind it, get behind your team, show your support by watching the games, sharing online, and paying it forward to the future stars of rugby in the UAE.” added Born.

West Asia Super Rugby, formerly West Asia Premiership, is the UAE Rugby Federation’s top tier league of Gulf-region XV’s (15-a-side) rugby union where 7 regional rugby union clubs will participate in the 2024/2025 edition – Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Bahrain RFC, Doha RFC, Dubai Exiles, Dubai Hurricanes, Dubai Sharks, and Jebel Ali Dragons.

Commencing October the 4th, the West Asia Super Rugby series sees all teams play each other home and away, with a top 4 and bottom 3 semi-final, culminating with the West Asia Super Rugby Final between the top two teams (1st and 2nd ranked) on April 19. The winner of the final is then crowned West Asia Super Rugby Champions for that season.