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The IRB has moved a step closer to securing the .RUGBY internet domain name after the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ruled that the Game’s global governing body is the appropriate steward for the key property.
With the ICANN-run process nearing its conclusion, the ICC made its key ruling after considering detailed community objection submissions against the two competing commercial applications by the IRB on behalf of all facets of the global Rugby community.
The IRB is now the sole successful applicant in the process to secure the domain name.
The ICC recognised the IRB’s mission to grow participation, profile and engagement globally and acknowledged the leading role that the IRB has played in delivering record investment, strong tournaments, development, participation, player welfare strategies, strong regulation and Olympic Games inclusion to double participation to six million within the past five years.
IRB Chief Executive Brett Gosper has welcomed the key decision: “The ICC decision is a significant development in our mission to secure the .RUGBY domain name on behalf of the global Rugby community.”
“I would like to thank our Unions, competitions, players and fans who have united behind the campaign. The IRB is determined to keep the .RUGBY domain within the sport for the benefit of the global Rugby community in order to uphold and promote the sport of Rugby’s values and ethos and to protect the sport, its trademarks and the interests of its core stakeholders.”
“The IRB is committed to ensuring .RUGBY is used in the best interests of the Game and the Rugby community and we will ensure that it is used to promote the sport and its character-building values while protecting the integrity of the sport.”
The IRB’s application, in partnership with industry experts and Top Level Domain Holdings Limited and Roar Domains LLC, is founded on a mandate from the IRB’s global membership of 119 national Member Unions affiliated to the IRB through six Regional Associations.
Editors Notes
IRB partnered with industry experts Top Level Domain Holdings Limited and Roar Domains LLC to apply for the .RUGBY internet domain name via the new global top level domain name (gTLD) process conducted by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in order to ensure that the .RUGBY domain name is used in the best interests of the Game of Rugby and the global Rugby community.
The IRB together, with its partners, demonstrated Rugby’s value of solidarity in preparing Community Objections on behalf of the global Rugby Community against the competing applicants. These demonstrated extensive analyses, reasoning and substantial opposition from across the global Rugby Community. IRB Member Unions and Regional Associations, leading players, referees and other preeminent sporting associations, including the International Olympic Committee and Sport Accord (the umbrella organization for both Olympic and non-Olympic international sports federations) repeatedly voiced their opinions on multiple fronts throughout the gTLD process and expressed significant concern that entrusting the competing applicants (with no affiliation to Rugby) would threaten the integrity of the sport of Rugby and the new gTLD process.
