JAMES HARRINGTON
FRENCH COLUMN

THE Commission des Championnats professionnels de l’Autorité de régulation du rugby – the new name for the financial auditors of the professional game at this end of the Channel Tunnel – reported that revenues for Top 14 and ProD2 clubs rose 43 per cent between the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons, from just under €360 million to €515m. Some €371m of that revenue was generated by the Top 14 alone.
The Commission’s 150-plus page annual report revealed that sponsorship and partnership revenues in the Top 14 rose €67m over the same period; matchday income was up €4...