Rugby Africa
Source: Rugby Africa |

Société Générale in Partnership with Rugby Africa

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

This partnership uniting us with Société Générale will instill more vigour in the development of African rugby, especially with young people and women

PARIS, France, February 19, 2019/APO Group/ --

Société Générale (www.SocieteGenerale.com) and Rugby Africa (www.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.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Rugby Africa.

Media Contact:
Laure Bencheikh
01 57 29 39 38
laure.bencheikh@socgen.com
@SG_presse

Rugby Africa:
Rugby Africa (www.RugbyAfrique.com), formerly the African Rugby Confederation (CAR), is one of the six regional associations of World Rugby. It consists of  48 nations who play rugby fifteens, rugby sevens and women's rugby.

Société Générale will now be a partner of the ten or so tournaments organised by Rugby Africa including : 
▪ The Rugby Africa Gold Cup (8 best African teams)
▪ The Rugby Africa Silver Cup (8 teams)
▪ Rugby Africa Women's Cup
▪ 2 rugby sevens regional tournaments (West Center)
▪ The Barthès Under 20 Tournament
▪ The women's rugby sevens tournament (10 teams)
▪ The men's rugby sevens  tournament (12 teams)

In addition to organising competitions in Africa, Rugby Africa is launching initiatives to promote the training and development of rugby in Africa.

Société Générale:
Société Générale (www.SocieteGenerale.com) is one of Europe's leading financial services groups. Based on a diversified and integrated model, the Group combines financial strength, continuous innovation and a strategy for sustainable growth in order to become a trusted partner for its customers, committed to positive transformations of companies and economies.

An actor in the real economy for more than 150 years, solidly implanted in Europe and with connections to the rest of the world, Société Générale employs more than 147,000 people in 67 countries and every day helps 31 million individual, corporate and institutional investors around the world, offering a wide range of tailored financial advice and solutions based on three complementary business lines:

a retail bank in France under the banners of Société Générale, Crédit du Nord and Boursorama, offering a complete range of financial services with an omni-channel device at the cutting edge of digital innovation;
International retail banking, insurance and business financial services, with networks in Africa, Russia, Central and Eastern Europe, and specialised experts  who are leaders in their markets;
Global Banking and Investor Solutions, providing recognised expertise, key international positions and integrated solutions

Société Générale is included in the main sustainable development indices: DJSI (World and Europe), FTSE4Good (Global and Europe), Euronext Vigeo (World, Europe and Eurozone), 4 STOXX ESG Leaders indices, MSCI Low Carbon Leaders Index.

For more information, you can follow the twitter account @societegenerale or visit the website www.SocieteGenerale.com