LIFESTYLE

O2 HAS BEEN sponsoring England Rugby for 30 years – making it the longest-standing professional sports shirt sponsorship in the world. But a logo on a shirt is only a small part of this all-encompassing partnership. In 2021, O2 signed a five-year deal with the Rugby Football Union( RFU) in a commitment to gender parity, making it the first major brand in the sports industry to pledge equal marketing spend and funding across both the Men’ s and Women’ s teams. Since then, the company has been focusing on closing the gender awareness gap in rugby. In 2025, O2 and the RFU renewed the agreement with

Gareth Griffiths

Director of Partnerships and Sponsorship Virgin Media O2

a new five-year partnership deal – including a dedication to investing and improving on the fan experience.“ Our customers and colleagues love seeing the O2 logo on the front of the players’ kit, an iconic sponsorship that goes from strength to strength.” said Gareth Griffiths, Director of Partnerships and Sponsorship at Virgin Media O2.“ We have more exclusive offers and experiences for our customers via Priority, we’ re doubling down on O2 Inside Line, bringing the very best behind the scenes content to fans, and we’ re making sure the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham has worldclass O2 5G connectivity.”