Twickenham Stadium, LondonHerbert Smith Freehills (HSF) and Bird & Bird have landed the adviser roles as the Rugby Football Union (RFU) signs an eight-year partnership deal with English Premiership Rugby.

The £200m deal allows RFU to gain access to a wider squad of players for training and preparation for England team matches in return for a greater financial investment by the governing body.

HSF advised Premiership Rugby with a team led by corporate partner Robert Moore and dispute resolution partner Neil Blake.

The Bird & Bird team that advised the RFU was led by commercial partner Felicity Reeve.

Reeve is a partner in the firm's media, entertainment and sport sector group and recently advised Shanghai-based global investment group Fosun on its purchase of Wolverhampton Wanderers FC.

The firm has also recently advised the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) on its legal dispute with Russian athletes and the Russian Olympic Committee, over its decision to ban Russian athletes from the upcoming Rio Olympics because of doping offences.

Jonathan Taylor, partner at Bird & Bird and its head of sport, acted for the IAAF at the Court of Abritration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Photo: Twickenham Stadium, London. Credit: David Roberts/Wikimedia Commons

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