Hogan Lovells represents USA Rugby in victorious effort to bring Rugby World Cup to United States
New York, 12 May 2022 – Global law firm Hogan Lovells represented USA Rugby in its successful effort to bring the World Rugby Cup to the United States. Today, the World Rugby Council unanimously voted to officially select the United States as the host nation of the 2031 Men’s Rugby World Cup and the 2033 Women’s Rugby World Cup. The men’s event is the third-largest sports event in the world, and the women’s event is the fastest-growing.
Michael Kuh, who has a market-leading sports event acquisition practice at Hogan Lovells, was the lead outside counsel for the successful bid. Steve Argeris, a D.C. and New York-based counsel at the firm, is member of the board of directors for USA Rugby and was involved in the bid committee.
As part of a new partnership hosting model, USA Rugby and World Rugby will now work together to grow the sport in the United States over the next decade in preparation for hosting rugby’s pinnacle event on U.S. soil. Two dozen localities are pursuing the opportunity to host matches in either or both Rugby World Cup tournaments.
USA Rugby and the United States’ Rugby World Cup Bid Committee pursued a novel bid approach by seeking the opportunity to host Men’s and Women’s tournaments back-to-back in 2031 and 2033. This model will provide the ideal framework to grow the game over the next decade and establish the infrastructure to deliver on two incredible world-class events. Read more on today’s announcement here.
“This is a historic day for the sport of rugby as the Men’s Rugby World Cup has never been held in North or South America. Plus, it will mark the first time the Men’s and Women’s events have been staged within the same organizational structure. We want to congratulate USA Rugby CEO Ross Young and World Cup Bid Chair Jim Brown on their successful efforts to bring this exciting event to the U.S.,” said Kuh.
With today’s announcement, Kuh has led teams that have brought the last three major non-Olympic events to the United States. He represented the successful international bid by Canada, Mexico, and the United States to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and six months ago, he led the Hogan Lovells team that advised USA Cricket on its successful bid to co-host the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Men’s T20 World Cup in 2024, which will be the first global cricket tournament to be staged in the United States.