Tag Archives: .RUGBY

New gTLDs

World.Rugby launches .rugby as global rugby community invited to join digital revolution

World Rugby has made history by launching the .rugby internet domain name, kicking-off a digital revolution that will deliver multiple promotional benefits to the global rugby community.

World Rugby’s website has become www.world.rugby and all of the international federation’s digital properties, including email addresses, are being seamlessly transitioned as part of a phased major digital re-brand.

With competition for a share of the youth audience in the digital space, .rugby is a major digital pillar of World Rugby’s fan-engagement strategy, supporting the visibility, accessibility and engagement of a sport that has 9.1 million players and 338 million fans worldwide.

From today, unions and regions are invited to join the revolution within an exclusive first-chance period.

World Rugby obtained the .rugby domain with a view to:

• Accelerate the promotion of rugby and stakeholder brands in a safe, secure and controlled environment
• Promote the sport and unify the global community online under a common identity
• Make sure the rights of privileged rugby stakeholders are preserved
• Link all participants via a specific identity and create a recognisable digital space for all rugby-related activities online

World Rugby’s strategy partners in this ground-breaking project are Roar.Rugby, a field-leader in domain technology and marketing, who share World Rugby’s vision for the domain’s potential to grow the globality of the sport for the benefit of the sport.

World Rugby Vice-chair Agustin Pichot said: “Building a deeper connection with the youth audience is critical to the relevance and sustainability of sport and rugby is no different. The .rugby domain is an important fan-engagement enabler for rugby, a community promoter and protector and a potential new revenue stream for unions.”

World Rugby Chief Executive Brett Gosper added: “The .rugby domain reflects that mission and will provide the digital environment for a truly global community with one identity and we are already seeing significant excitement and interest across the game.

“Ensuring that .rugby was kept within the sport for the benefit of global rugby is in line with our strategic mission to protect and promote the sport, uniting the community and furthering our audience reach and therefore we are underwriting the provision of a package of .rugby domains for our unions, should they wish to embrace this exciting opportunity.”

ROAR Founder and Chairman and former professional football player, Ryan Nelsen congratulated World Rugby on securing the domain. “Since World Rugby announced this program in March we have seen tremendous excitement from Unions, clubs, players and fans wanting to get into the new digital era of .rugby for their internet identity. A number of unions are ready to launch alongside World Rugby, keen to get the benefits of consistent branding, a safer internet space, and revenue opportunities.”

World Rugby believes the global rugby community will embrace .rugby and is offering priority access to domain names to its six regional associations, 121 national member unions and key stakeholders. The general public will have the chance to use the trusted and secure domain later in 2018.

Any party interested in obtaining the .rugby domain should visit www.roar.rugby or email info@roar.rugby.

This news release was sourced from:
https://www.world.rugby/news/348461

New gTLDs

Rugby Gets Its Own Heavenly New gTLD

It’s the game they play in heaven. And now rugby union has another home via its own new gTLD – .rugby – through its global governing body World Rugby.

The international federation move to World.Rugby as part of the digital re-brand in 2018 and the .rugby domain name will also be available to unions, regional associations and key stakeholders. The backend registry provider is CentralNic.

The new generic top level domain name has been secured by World Rugby for the benefit of the global rugby community and opens the door to a single global digital identity that will link every member of the rugby family in a united and customised space on the Internet.

World Rugby is among the very few international federations to have sought and successfully secured their own gTLD named after its sport. As a result, World Rugby is now in a position to provide key stakeholders and fans with a trusted domain space that will deliver multiple benefits for the sport.

With competition for a share of digital space, and the youth audience being increasingly competitive, .rugby will play a major role in boosting search engine optimisation for rugby. In emerging markets, .rugby will help in building communities and strengthening tribal affiliation with the sport through a common global digital identity.

World Rugby obtained .rugby with a view to:

  • Accelerating the promotion of rugby in emerging markets and stakeholder brands in a controlled environment
  • Promoting the sport and unifying the global community online under a common identity
  • Making sure the rights of privileged rugby stakeholders are preserved
  • Linking all participants via a specific identity and creating a recognisable digital space for all rugby-related activities online.

Making the announcement, World Rugby Chief Executive Brett Gosper said: “This is an exciting moment for a growing, global sport. The .rugby domain defines the sport and will build a truly global community with one identity. Ensuring that .rugby was kept within the sport for the benefit of global rugby is in line with our strategic mission to protect and promote the sport, uniting the community and furthering our audience reach.”

 

The process to obtain the .rugby domain began in 2012, when World Rugby partnered with Roar Domains, a US-based company. World Rugby and Roar Domains were successful in winning the rights following an extensive process backed by all national member unions, national bodies and fans around the world.

Roar Founder and Chairman Ryan Nelson said: “Roar commends World Rugby’s commitment in building a global digital brand for its sport. There is no better brand than the name of the sport itself. Roar looks forward to working with World Rugby to launch the .rugby name for the benefit of unions, clubs, players and fans around the world.”

World Rugby believes the global rugby community will embrace .rugby and is offering priority access to domain names to its six regional associations, 121 national member unions and key stakeholders. The general public will have the chance to use the trusted and secure domain later in 2018.

World Rugby will be moving all its digital platforms to .rugby over time and will work with Roar to offer guidance and support to unions who wish to implement .rugby.

New gTLDs

IRB Closer To Securing .RUGBY TLD

International Rugby Board logo[news release] The IRB has moved a step closer to securing the .RUGBY internet domain name after the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ruled that the Game’s global governing body is the appropriate steward for the key property.
With the ICANN-run process nearing its conclusion, the ICC made its key ruling after considering detailed community objection submissions against the two competing commercial applications by the IRB on behalf of all facets of the global Rugby community.

The IRB is now the sole successful applicant in the process to secure the domain name.

The ICC recognised the IRB’s mission to grow participation, profile and engagement globally and acknowledged the leading role that the IRB has played in delivering record investment, strong tournaments, development, participation, player welfare strategies, strong regulation and Olympic Games inclusion to double participation to six million within the past five years.

IRB Chief Executive Brett Gosper has welcomed the key decision: “The ICC decision is a significant development in our mission to secure the .RUGBY domain name on behalf of the global Rugby community.”

“I would like to thank our Unions, competitions, players and fans who have united behind the campaign. The IRB is determined to keep the .RUGBY domain within the sport for the benefit of the global Rugby community in order to uphold and promote the sport of Rugby’s values and ethos and to protect the sport, its trademarks and the interests of its core stakeholders.”

“The IRB is committed to ensuring .RUGBY is used in the best interests of the Game and the Rugby community and we will ensure that it is used to promote the sport and its character-building values while protecting the integrity of the sport.”

The IRB’s application, in partnership with industry experts and Top Level Domain Holdings Limited and Roar Domains LLC, is founded on a mandate from the IRB’s global membership of 119 national Member Unions affiliated to the IRB through six Regional Associations.

This IRB news release was sourced from:
www.irb.com/newsmedia/mediazone/pressrelease/newsid=2070290.html