The home of England rugby, Twickenham Stadium, is to be renamed in a deal between England’s Rugby Football Union (RFU) and German insurance company Allianz, the RFU confirmed on Monday.
Twickenham, named after the area of London in which it was built in 1907, held its first rugby international in 1910 when England hosted Wales, and will change its name to Allianz Stadium in September.
“[The agreement] will see Allianz and the RFU offer significant support to the grassroots game through financial investment that aims to secure future investment into the community game,” the RFU said in a statement.
The sponsorship of the 82,000-capacity stadium is the eighth of its kind for Allianz, and is reminiscent of the renaming of Ireland’s Lansdowne Road Stadium which became the Aviva Stadium after the old ground was demolished and a new one built.