The inaugural edition of WXV will take place across October and November 2023. (Dave Rowland/Getty Images)

The World Rugby governing body has announced it has entered into a multi-year partnership with Mitsubishi Electric, global auto manufacturer Mitsubishi’s consumer electronics subdivision, covering women's rugby. 

As part of the deal, Mitsubishi becomes an official partner of women's rugby and will sponsor the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, as well as World Rugby’s new annual international women’s 15-a-side rugby tournament, WXV.

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Mitsubishi will be the official heating and cooling partner of the 2023 and 2024 editions of the new WXV series.

The company will use its electronics background to collaborate with World Rugby to release digital videos with talents of women’s rugby to shed light on obstacles women face in the workplace, to be hosted on World Rugby’s LinkedIn page.

Mitsubishi Electric Europe chief executive Shunji Kurita stated: “We are excited to contribute to the future growth of women's rugby and empower female athletes. We hope to inspire future generations to take up the sport and see a pathway beyond their playing careers.”

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WXV, announced in May 2023, will see 18 teams spread across three tiers competing across three match weekends across the globe.

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WXV 1, the top tier of the tournament, will see its games take place in New Zealand across October and November 2023.

The second tier WXV 2 and WXV 3 will take place in South Africa and the United Arab Emirates respectively.

The new competition will be the main element of a new pathway from regional events to the Rugby World Cup, with World Rugby putting the women’s game at the center of its strategy to grow rugby union as a whole.

It will support the Accelerate program that World Rugby launched in April to "supercharge the development of women’s rugby on and off the field."

WXV has already secured the support of global broadcasters, with free-to-air broadcaster ITV to show the tournament in the UK and public-service broadcaster TF1 has secured the domestic rights to the tournament in France, alongside the rights to the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup.