Qantas dumps Wallabies as part of broader sponsorship shake-up
Qantas has announced it is ending its 30-year sponsorship relationship with Rugby Australia in what is a huge blow for the code.
Qantas has announced it will end its 30-year partnership with Rugby Australia as part of a major overhaul of the airline’s sponsorship arrangements.
Other tie-ups with Cricket Australia, the Football Federation of Australia, Australian Olympic Committee and Paralympics Australia will continue, but on a “non-cash basis”.
Qantas stressed the decision to cut ties with Rugby Australia and the Wallabies was not related to last year’s controversy over player Israel Folau.
The star had his contract torn up after homophobic social media posts were ruled a serious breach of Rugby Australia’s standards.
His treatment became the subject of national debate and at the time Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the company did not engage in sponsorship to get involved in controversy.
“Sponsorship is supposed to be a positive for us,” Mr Joyce said.
On Wednesday Qantas chief customer officer Stephanie Tully said the COVID pandemic had been the undoing of the partnership.
“Qantas has had a very long association with Rugby Australia and the Wallabies and we’ve stuck with each other during difficult times,” Ms Tully said.
“Like all Australians we’ll continue to cheer them on from the sidelines.”
In relation to other sporting sponsorships, Qantas would provide flights for cricketers, footballers and athletes, and allow access to marketing channels.
Cricketers would continue to carry the Qantas logo on their shirts, and Qantas expected to fly athletes to Tokyo for next year’s postponed Olympics and Paralympic Games.
However other funding would cease in a move expected to save the airline many millions of dollars over the next 12-months.
“In an environment where thousands of our people have lost their jobs and thousands more are stood down while they wait for flying to restart we can’t maintain these sponsorships in the way we have in the past,” Ms Tully said.
“While we’re dealing with this crisis and its aftermath, the cash cost of our sponsorships has to be zero.”
She said without exception, their partners had been incredibly understanding of the situation “particularly as most are facing their own COVID challenges.
“Sadly, we will have to end several of our arts and community sponsorships, but we’ve agreed to maintain a connection with a number of them, including the National Gallery of Australia and Museum of Contemporary Art in the hope there are projects we can work on together in future,” said Ms Tully.
“Our focus right now is getting through this crisis, which unfortunately means lots of difficult decisions like these. We know things will eventually recover and, when they do, we’ll be ready to support Australian cultural and sporting life, in whatever form that takes.”
Qantas remained committed to its work with indigenous and regional communities, including through its five-year regional grants program.
The national carrier would also continue to work closely with Tourism Australia and state-based tourism bodies to provide in-kind support to stimulate domestic tourism as borders reopen, and promote Australia to the world once international travel resumes.
Since the start of the COVID crisis, Qantas has stood down more than 20,000 employees, and announced up to 8500 jobs will go.
In August the airline group posted a $2.7bn before tax loss for the 2020 financial year and warned of another significant loss in 2021 with revenue expected to plunge by $10bn.
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