Jad Zoghbi (France 2023): "A range of hospitality offers to suit all budgets".

How do you explain the strong link between rugby and the corporate world?

Jad Zoghbi - Le rugby and the world ofcompany go extremely well together. Their values are quite It's about cohesion, solidarity and the team taking precedence over the individual. For managers, rugby illustrates what they are putting in place within their companies. This strong link between the two is not new, but it continues to grow. Despite its professionalisation, rugby's grassroots values are still very much present. More and more people identify with it than with other sports.

Football, for example?

Jad Zoghbi - That's right. Let's compare football and rugby hospitality. In football, it's much more formalWe're here because we have to be. Whereas around rugby, you come to share At one point, you feel like you're experiencing the same thing in the company as the players on the pitch. Strong relationships are forged in the lounges and dressing rooms. That's why big companies are very keen on this type of service, to unite their customers and employees around them.

Will invitations to World Cup matches be extended mainly to customers, or will employees also be invited?

Jad Zoghbi - I'd say it's 50-50, according to the company's strategy. It also depends on the type of company purchasing the hospitality. In the logistics sector, these invitations will be a way of rewarding their employees by taking them to a prestigious area to let them enjoy a great moment. The automotive sector will tend to favour dealerships, which work closely with them. In banking and insurance, on the other hand, the invitations will be geared more towards customers.

Your hospitality services are certainly not limited to CAC 40 companies. What kind of companies do you cater for?

Jad Zoghbi - These range from very small businesses, which come to these hospitality venues to build relationships and find future contracts, to very large groups with a global public relations strategy. Our aim was to address to the entire business world in France and abroad. It is estimated that 30% of our hospitality customers will come from abroadThis is a smaller market, but a buoyant one, with many large companies headquartered there.

What kind of hospitality services do you offer?

Jad Zoghbi - We offer a whole range of packages to suit different budgets. The lodge is of course the most expensive and exclusive of allAt the other end of the spectrum, while still offering top-of-the-range hospitality, we offer a range of services we call "hospitality". On the other side of the spectrum, while still offering top-of-the-range hospitality, we offer services that we call " village" . For example, in Saint Denis, we will have a huge structure in the Stade de France annex stadium, which can accommodate 3,000 people. This offer is aimed at the smallest budgets, but also at private individuals, a clientele that should not be overlooked. And, between these two extremes, we also have lounges for 200 to 300 people, with a small difference in budget between the stand-up cocktail service and the gourmet dinner.

France 2023 has also placed great emphasis on the gastronomy offered in the dressing rooms and lounges. Is this an essential point?

Jad Zoghbi - Eating and drinking well, with dishes that have nothing to envy gourmet restaurants, is obviously important, especially in France. One of the strong points of our organisation is that we have teamed up with 23 French chefs - a rugby team, including substitutes - all grouped under the label of " XV of gastronomy" . Chefs such as Alain Ducasse, Jean-François Piège and Yves Camdeborde have invested a great deal of time and effort in creating menus based on local, seasonal and locally sourced produce. A guarantee of quality that is a real asset, especially as guests will have the chance to meet these chefs in the hospitality areas.

As well as great chefs, you can also guarantee the presence of great players.

Jad Zoghbi - Indeed, this is another of our emotional assets. Former French or foreign players will come to preach the good word in the lounges, talk to customers and offer their analyses of the match. These talks are invaluable. Guests will long remember talking to one of rugby's greatest starsAnd to have met such and such a person. These are powerful moments shared between the guest and the host.

While most matches take place at the Stade de France, especially the most prestigious ones, other stadiums will also be hosting matches. Are provincial stadiums also covered by your hospitality services?

Jad Zoghbi - The eight host cities in the French provinces all offer the same type of hospitality as at the Stade de France. They are our strategy from the outset. To do this, we started selling our offers two or three years ago in order to give yourself time to reach as many companies as possibleThis is not just for the big companies, but also for the entire regional ecosystem around the cities. Even if they are more expensive than a Ligue 1 or Top 14 football match, the offers are still more affordable than in Paris. This is to ensure that we can reach all types of company, whose purchasing power is often lower than in the Paris region. The result is a highly localised customer base. In Bordeaux, most customers come from a catchment area of just a few kilometres around the city.

It has to be said that, apart from Saint-Étienne, Nantes and Lille, these stadiums are often in rugby regions. Hence the natural interest in the World Cup.

Jad Zoghbi - Of course, these are rugby regions, but the flip side of that is that there is already a plethora of facilities on offer. So we had to stand out from the crowdIt's a great way to promote ourselves, even though our services are more expensive than in the Top 14. We've worked with the clubs to share information in advance, hoping in return to sustain this enthusiasm at local level. The World Cup will be a success on our side if 10 or 20% of the new customers we manage to attract stay involved with rugby for the following seasons in the Top 14 or the European Cup.