FIRA – Association of European Rugby
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| Formation | 1934 |
|---|---|
| Type | Sports federation |
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
| Coordinates | 48°52′46″N 2°19′41″E / 48.87944°N 2.32806°E |
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Membership
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49 unions |
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President
|
Octavian Morariu |
| Website | rugbyeurope.eu |
Rugby Europe is the administrative body for rugby union in Europe. It was formed in 1999 to promote, develop, organise and administer the game of rugby in Europe under the authority of World Rugby (the world governing body of rugby union).
The predecessor to Rugby Europe was the Fédération Internationale de Rugby Amateur (FIRA). FIRA was formed in 1934 to promote, develop, organise and administer the game of rugby union in Europe outside the authority of the International Rugby Football Board (as World Rugby was then called), and quickly came to spread outside the continent. FIRA agreed to come under the auspices of World Rugby in the 1990s, changed its name and returned to being a European body. In 2014 it changed its name from Fédération Internationale de Rugby Amateur – Association Européenne de Rugby (FIRA-AER) to Rugby Europe as part of a rebranding strategy.
The highest level of rugby competition played among European countries is the Six Nations Championship, contested every year in February and March, by England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France, and Italy—all countries routinely ranked in the Top 15 in the world. The tournament began in 1883, and is the oldest international rugby tournament. The tournament has been known as the Six Nations Championship since 2000, when Italy joined; it had previously been known as the Five Nations. There is no promotion or relegation, and since 2000, no country has entered or left the Six Nations.
The next highest level of international rugby played by European countries is the European Nations Cup Division 1A, which is contested by six countries—Romania, Georgia, Russia, Spain, Portugal, and Germany—all of which are ranked in the Top 30 in the world. Of these six countries, all but Germany have been in Division 1A since 2007, and all but Germany have played in a Rugby World Cup. There is promotion and relegation between the ENC Division 1A and lower divisions. In total, the ENC has seven divisions, with a system of promotion and relegation linking all seven.
Men
Women
Youth
The following table shows the professional rugby union competitions in various European countries.
Notes:
Rugby Europe has 48 member unions and 1 union under suspension, as of January 2015. Not all European member unions are members of World Rugby (WR). Rugby Europe's members are listed below, with the year each union joined World Rugby shown in brackets. World Rugby associates are shown in italics.
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