Futures Sport & Entertainment, the international research and consulting agency, has been appointed by the United Rugby Championship (URC) to provide brand insights, fan engagement, and growth consultation for the rugby union competition.

As part of the tie-up, Futures will advise URC on global audience and commercial data, sponsorship data, performance measurement, and other brand health analytics and insights “to help drive continued growth of the league and further showcase the returns URC delivers to its broadcast and brand sponsor partners.”

The competition claims that since 2021, it has reached a broadcast audience of over 175 million and generated close to 1 billion digital video views.

Martin Anayi, URC CEO, said: “We’re excited to be working with Futures on our key audience engagement, brand health, and exposure measures. We’ve already been hugely impressed by the level of insight that Futures has been able to provide, and we’re only just getting started.

“URC has grown very rapidly over the last few seasons ,and Futures will ensure we understand our fans and we’re able to continue on that trajectory for many seasons to come.”

Kevin Alavy, global managing director of Futures, said: “Partnering with the URC presents a fantastic opportunity to apply our expertise to one of the fastest-growing leagues in world rugby.

“We’re looking forward to working closely with Martin and his team to study and showcase the incredible data that demonstrates the league’s success, and the significant value URC brings to its partners worldwide.”

The 2025-26 URC season got underway last month and features 16 teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales.