PARIS, France, February 19, 2019/APO Group/ —Société Générale (www.SocieteGenerale.com) and Rugby Africa (RugbyAfrique.com) have agreed to join forces for the next two years to support the development of rugby in Africa, with a particular emphasis on rugby competitions for women and young athletes.

This new partnership is an additional milestone in Société Générale’s ongoing commitment to supporting the development and openness of rugby in France and internationally, especially in Africa.

Rugby Africa is one of the six regional associations of World Rugby, the international body that oversees the organisation of the Rugby World Cup.

The partnership will focus specifically on:

• World Rugby’s Get into Rugby program, which aims to encourage everyone around the world to take up rugby
• The two official competitions for women’s rugby, the Africa Women’s Sevens, and under-20s rugby with the U20 Barthès Trophy

“This partnership is the continuation of two of our long-term commitments: to rugby, of which we have been a reliable partner for over 30 years, and to Africa, with our Grow with Africa initiative, a program central to our priorities that aims to promote the sustainable development of the continent. African rugby is booming, and we intend, in association with Rugby Africa, to implement important rugby development projects as a force for social cohesion,” Caroline Guillaumin, Director of Human Resources and Communication for the Group, explained.

“This partnership uniting us with Société Générale will instill more vigour in the development of African rugby, especially with young people and women. Currently, around half a million children and teenagers are introduced to rugby every year in Africa. And the number of registered female players has more than tripled in recent years in Africa. This partnership is a decisive step forward for Rugby Africa as it brings the necessary investment to support this rapid growth. We thank Société Générale for the confidence they have placed in Rugby Africa and its federations,” commented Abdelaziz Bougja, President of Rugby Africa.

Société Générale and rugby, a commitment at the international scale

Société Générale is a long-standing partner of rugby, a sport with which the Bank shares the common values of team spirit, commitment and respect. The Bank supports the development of all forms of rugby, from the amateur level to the highest professional level:

• In France: it is partner to more than 450 amateur clubs in France, the Top 14, PROD2, the French Rugby Federation (FFR) as well as the French national rugby team.
• Internationally, it is a major partner and the official bank of the Rugby World Cup for the sixth time, a partner of Rugby India (Indian Rugby Federation) and title sponsor of the rugby sevens national teams in all categories (men, women and junior) since 2017, backer of the association Terres en Mêlées and  partner of the Algerian Rugby Federation.