Tissot clocks up addition to rugby portfolio with EPCR partnership

European Professional Club Rugby has signed its second major sponsorship deal in the space of a week, with Swiss watchmaker Tissot agreeing a five-year contract for the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup tournaments.

The partnership between Tissot and EPCR, the governing body of the two European club competitions, will run from the 2015-16 season to the end of the 2019-20 campaign.

Tissot will serve as the official watch and timekeeper of the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup, which was last season won by Gloucester, supplying timekeeping technology to all stadiums staging matches during the coming seasons.

EPCR director general Vincent Gaillard said: “This new partnership is also particularly pleasing from our perspective as Tissot's Swiss headquarters are situated in the Canton of Neuchatel, where EPCR has established its base since 2014.”

Tissot has a long-standing commitment to rugby union and was the official timekeeper of the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The company is also the current official timekeeper of the Top 14, the top division of French club rugby, and the Six Nations national team championship.

Turkey’s national carrier Turkish Airlines last week made its first move into rugby union through a partnership with EPCR to sponsor the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup. The three-year deal will begin with the 2015-16 season and conclude at the end of the 2017-18 campaign.