HKCR AND CRFA CONFIRM DETAILS OF MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
PUBLISHED ON 09 OCT 2026
[Hong Kong, 9 October 2026]: Hong Kong China Rugby (HKCR) and the Chinese Rugby Football Association (CRFA) have confirmed full details of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was recently signed between the two organisations.
The MOU had been announced on the Friday evening of the 2026 Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens (17 April 2026), the opening night of the 50th Anniversary of the iconic rugby sevens tournament.
To mark the occasion, immediately before Hong Kong China and China men’s 7s teams faced off in the Melrose Claymores competition, senior executives from HKCR and the CRFA were joined for a ceremonial moment on the field of play by the two captains, as well as World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson.
The agreement pledges to formally build on the existing relationship between HKCR, who were a founding member of Asia Rugby in 1968, and the CRFA who joined the organisation in 1997, the same year the association was admitted to World Rugby. This is designed as a partnership framework between the two organisations to promote rugby development through a range of commitments (more details below).
HKCR interim CEO, Mrs Sare Hooper, shared her excitement at the two organisations working even more closely together moving forwards:
“This agreement formalises a relationship that is already delivering real value for rugby in Hong Kong SAR and Chinese mainland. From our shared experience delivering rugby at the 15th National Games, to the close links between our sevens programmes, there is a clear opportunity to build together.
“The MOU gives both organisations a practical framework to share expertise, create meaningful playing and development opportunities, and support the sustainable growth of the game across the region.”
CRFA Secretary-General, Mr Jin Hongwen, talked about the opportunities the MOU creates for the game of rugby in China:
“The strategic cooperation between the two associations aims to jointly promote the popularization of rugby and the dissemination of its culture. It will strengthen the cooperation and interactions across multiple areas including professional talents development, event organisation and youth development. This will undoubtedly give a strong impetus to the development of rugby in China.”
Collaboration areas will be managed and advanced by a newly appointed special working group featuring designated representatives from both sides.
These areas include: joint training sessions for both men’s and women’s 7s representative teams; the Hong Kong Tertiary Rugby Team integrating into the National Finals of the China University Rugby Competition; joint work towards building China’s National 15-a-side Club Rugby Competition; coach and referee skill and experience sharing sessions; development of a national communication platform open to provincial and municipal-level rugby entities; and wider resource sharing initiatives around the creating rugby event IP, developing rugby-specific facilities and growing community participation programmes.
