Catapult appointed as tech supplier across French rugby

Sports tech, data and analytics company Catapult Group (ASX: CAT) has emerged from a competitive tender process to be appointed as the preferred supplier of technology to all teams that compete in France’s Top 14 and Pro D2 professional rugby competitions where the nation is set to host the next Rugby World Cup in 2023. 

The 4-year agreement was awarded in collaboration between the French Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) and French Rugby Federation (FBF) with Catapult to support data exchange between any contract sub teams and the French national rugby union team. 

“After a lengthy tender process where our technology and people were reviewed comprehensively, it is motivating to know our level of customer obsession was a deciding factor in this award from such a world-class association, said Catapult Chief Commercial Officer, Matt Bairos. 

“We look forward to delivering French rugby constant innovation and assisting them in their long-term strategy for player health and continued global success.”

As a global supplier of wearable devices specifically designed for athletic high performance, tracking and analysis, Catapult has a dedicated line of rugby tech products which monitor scrum analytics, kick analysis and contact involvement. 

Through these sport-specific metric focuses, Catapult already has Federation-wide rugby partnerships in Australia, Scotland and Wales which were formulated through Catapult’s industry-leading sports data analytics history. 

The awarded contract is not the first interaction Catapult has had with French rugby, having introduced new performance metrics to 20 French rugby teams earlier in the year. 

As the host of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, the 200th year of rugby union as a sport, uniformity and of data across all of French rugby will assist administrators with the preparation of the tournament. 

For FY20, Catapult reported a 6% increase in revenue to $100.7m which delivered a 225% EBITDA to $13.3m. This has been driven by a focus on recurring revenue linked to Catapult devices which was responsible for $77.6 million, a 21% increase on the previous year. 

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