England rugby’s Twickenham home is to be renamed as the Allianz Stadium in a new sponsorship deal.
The change will take place from September and means the insurance company now hold the naming rights to eight stadiums worldwide, including Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena in Germany.
Twickenham has hosted England men’s games since 1909.
The 82,000-seater stadium also hosts international women’s matches, key domestic games, community events and music concerts.
The RFU have been looking for additional investment and were considering selling their south-west London home and buying a 50% share in Wembley.
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The RFU board discussed the proposal in March last year, but no formal approach was made to the Football Association.
Those plans were shelvedin favour of redeveloping the stadium and the RFU say the move will provide a “significant, long-term investment in the game”.
“This is an opportunity to celebrate our stadium’s proud legacy while developing it for the future,” said RFU Chief Executive Bill Sweeney. “This partnership will support us in moving the game in a direction which serves all rugby, from minis to the elites, from club coaches to our national coaches and everything in between.”
The venue will host the final of the 2025 Women’s World Cup, while the first international fixture under the new name will see England’s women play world champions New Zealand on 14 September.
It remains to be seen what impact the partnership will have on the RFU’s plans to redevelop the stadium, which have been quoted at a cost of £663m.
The inclusion of Twickenham increases Allianz’s portfolio to eight stadiums around the world.
The Allianz Arena in Munich is the home of German football club Bayern Munich, while the Allianz Stadium in Sydney is used by the Sydney Roosters of the National Rugby League, the New South Wales Waratahs in Super Rugby, and Sydney FC of the A-League Men.
The Allianz Field in Minnesota is home to Major League Soccer side Minnesota United, the Allianz Riviera in Nice hosts Nice FC and Toulon Rugby, while the Allianz Parque in Sao Paulo stages football matches for Palmeiras.
The Allianz Stadion is home to Austrian football club Rapid Vienna and Italian giants Juventus play at the Allianz Stadium in Turin.
