Premiership Women’s Rugby champion, Gloucester-Hartpury Rugby, has entered into a wide-ranging deal with telecommunications company Vodafone which will see the naming rights of its main stadium spotlight the 4ED Foundation, a charity focused on motor neurone disease (MND).
The multi-year contract, which also covers defending Women’s BUCS Super Rugby champion Hartpury University and Hartpury College WRFC, sees Hartpury University and Hartpury College Stadium renamed as the ‘4ED Hartpury Stadium, with Vodafone’.
Established in honour of former men’s Gloucester Rugby player, Ed Slater, who was diagnosed with MND in 2022, 4ED provides financial support to individuals living with MND and their families. Through the Vodafone deal, for the next three seasons, 50p (€0.60/$0.65) of every stadium ticket sold will be donated to the charity to further support its beneficiaries.
In addition, Vodafone becomes the performance innovation partner of the three clubs, as well as featuring on the training kit of Gloucester-Hartpury Rugby, front-of-shirt of Hartpury University and back-of-shirt of Hartpury College.
In its role as performance innovation partner, Vodafone will provide both teams with access to Vodafone PLAYER.Connect, the company’s landmark mobile-first platform that gathers data on players’ performance and recovery, menstrual cycle phases, and mental and physical wellbeing. The platform will allow both teams to tailor training programmes to each player’s specific needs.
Vodafone will support the pre-existing talent pathway at Hartpury University and Hartpury College, an established route that allows players to progress from university rugby to elite level. Players will receive support from nationally accredited sports psychologists and nutritionists, as well as mental health support from Vodafone’s charity partner, LooseHeadz.
Maria Koutsoudakis, brand director of Vodafone UK, said: “At Vodafone we are committed to supporting the growth of women’s rugby in the UK. We are thrilled to announce this landmark partnership with two of the nation’s most exciting women’s rugby teams ahead of what is set to be a momentous year for women’s rugby in the UK with the 2025 World Cup taking place on home soil.
“As performance innovation partner we’ll be providing teams with access to groundbreaking technology such as our PLAYER.Connect platform which will support players development and performance and help to provide crucial pathways for the next generation of players.”
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