Rugby Premier League to debut with six teams

Mumbai: Six teams will participate in the inaugural season of the Rugby Premier League (RPL), a franchise-based league introduced by Rugby India in collaboration with GMR Sports.

GMR Sports holds the commercial rights to the RPL. The league has brought on JioStar as its media rights partner, with matches to be broadcast on Star Sports and JioHotstar.

GMR Sports chief executive Satyam Trivedi said the RPL franchises are expected to break even faster than those in most other sporting properties in the country due to a low entry barrier in terms of the franchise fee. He declined to provide specifics of the RPL's financial model, citing a non-disclosure agreement.


Mumbai Dreamers in the league are owned by Dream Sports, the parent company of fantasy sports platform Dream11, marking its entry into owning a professional sports franchise.

The Bengaluru Bravehearts are promoted by Ranjan Pai, chairman of Manipal Education and Medical Group, along with InCred chairman Bhupinder Singh and Soham Infrastructure chairman Sanjith Shetty.

Hyderabad Heroes are backed by KLO Sports, while the Chennai Bulls are owned by AVID Sports, a division of Indian-Australian company AvidSys Group. Delhi Redz are backed by family-owned alternative assets company RMZ and the Kalinga Black Tigers are owned by venture capital firm Hunch Ventures.

The RPL, the world’s first franchise-based Rugby 7s league, is scheduled to take place in Mumbai from June 1 to June 15.

According to sources, stakeholders are expected to invest Rs 20–25 crore in the league during its inaugural year, with the figure set to rise as the league expands.

Dream11 chief marketing officer Vikrant Mudaliar said the platform, which has 240 million users, will launch a rugby fantasy sports category to coincide with the RPL.

“Our efforts and financial investments will be geared towards popularising the sport, building a fan base, and elevating the stature and popularity of rugby players,” he said.

The RPL will feature 30 international players from the top Rugby 7s nations: Argentina, South Africa, Kenya, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Fiji, the US and Ireland. Some of the biggest names in the sport will be participating, the organisers said.

Eighteen international players from Canada, Hong Kong and Germany, and 30 Indian players selected from an auction pool of 71 will also participate in the tournament.

GMR Sports holds sports franchises in international markets as well, including the Dubai Capitals in ILT20, Pretoria Capitals in SA20, Seattle Orcas in Major League Cricket (US) and Hampshire County Cricket Club in England.