Singapore's RWCC gets canned

• RWCC cancelled
• Carried government backing
• Could be staged in another country

Singapore - The inaugural World Club Challenge (RWCC), a premier rugby event to be staged in Singapore in July, has been canned because of poor infrastructure and an apparent lack of sponsorship money.

Organised by event management company the Amici Group, the tournament was supposed to be another exciting date on the Singapore sporting calendar this year and part of Singapore's mission to become a regional sports hub. It had government backing as well as initial interest from sponsors but the initiative has ultimately failed to come to fruition.

Phil Greening, director of the Amici Group, told Marketing that "unfortunately due to the added cost of developing the facilities to be able to hold an event like this in Singapore, we have had to cancel the event in Singapore and are talking to other countries to hold this event".

Greening said "it was not through lack of sponsorship but the cost of building the facilities to a standard required".

A deal had also been penned with International Sportsworld Communicators to broadcast the RWCC live to 24 countries across the world - further enhancing Singapore's reputation as a genuine sporting hub. Companies such as Qantas, British Airways and Jetstar had thrown their weight behind the event as official partners while the Singapore Sports Council and Singapore Tourism Board were also supporting the tournament.

According to sources, the RWCC was still short of the required sponsorship money it needed to survive.

Four top international club sides: Australia's Western Force, France's Perpignan and England's Gloucester and Saracens had all confirmed their participation for the inaugural tournament to be held at The Padang.