Nations Championship: Monzo makes first move into rugby, with Allianz and ITV
Monzo have broadened its sponsorship portfolio, joining Allianz in sponsoring ITV’s coverage of rugby union’s Nations Championship competition.
The challenger bank and insurance giant have each signed deals with the free-to-air broadcaster to be part of the channel’s coverage of the inaugural inter-hemispheric tournament.
It is Monzo’s first step into rugby union and comes after they signed a deal to partner with The Hundred.
Rugby chiefs have combined the traditional summer tours – where European nations tour overseas – and the autumn internationals – where the reverse takes place in the north – to form the Nations Championship, with a finals weekend at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium at the end of November.
And following on from reports that Qatar Airways decided to put their £80m sponsorship of the competition on ice over the ongoing conflict in Iran, ITV has managed to secure broadcast backing from both Allianz and Monzo.
But the two organisations’ respective adverts will not be shown in-game after ITV chose to ditch the adverts they trialled during the Six Nations earlier this year.
Bhavit Chandrani, director of BE Studio, said: “With over 50 matches in 2026, including all of England’s matches, ITV is offering free-to-air rugby throughout the year.
“We’re delighted to welcome Allianz and Monzo as our inaugural coverage sponsors for the brand new, and exciting, Nations Championship tournament.”
While the agreement is 50-50 between Monzo and Allianz, the German firm will fork out an additional cost to sponsor a new rugby analysis show – “The Debrief with Dan and ROG” – which will be hosted by former Welsh international Dan Biggar and La Rochelle coach Ronan O’Gara.
Allianz chief Colm Holmes said that the deal will “help bring the excitement and spirit of rugby to even more people”, while Monzo’s Charlotte Ford stated that “stepping into rugby for the very first time is a big milestone for Monzo, and we’re delighted to partner with ITV and Allianz for the historic debut of the Nations Championship 2026”.