Principality Building Society celebrates clubhouse champions with its Unofficial Squad programme

During this years’ Guinness Six Nations, Principality Building Society, title sponsor of Principality Stadium and longstanding partner of the Welsh Rugby Union, launched a search for its ‘Unofficial Squad’ – a team of 15 Clubhouse Champions who go above and beyond to make their rugby clubhouses feel like home.

The campaign was led by Principality Building Society’s sports marketing agency The Space Between, with support from Cardiff-based media agency Orchard. Aligning with its core brand message of ‘Where Home Matters’, and based on the insight that 85% of Welsh rugby fans think sponsors should support grassroots rugby communities, the Unofficial Squad campaign used the grandeur and platform of the Guinness Six Nations to celebrate the home-makers and unsung heroes of Welsh rugby and showcases how Principality Building Society understands the importance of rugby clubs to local communities across Wales.

Unofficial Squad was activated using a multi-channel approach to direct the public to the Principality Building Society website, where the Welsh Rugby community could nominate their local rugby heroes.  

Having received over 800 nominations, a panel of judges including Wales’ top try-scorer Shane Williams selected 15 Clubhouse Champions to make up the Unofficial Squad. The chosen heroes will receive the honour of being a Clubhouse Champion for 2022 and will be given VIP treatment by Principality Building Society at Wales vs Italy on March 19 at Principality Stadium, including box seats and a meet-and-greet with a player from the current Welsh men’s squad. The Unofficial Squad will also be announced in the official match day programme, to celebrate their achievements alongside the two elite teams competing on the day.

The 15 Clubhouse Champions have already taken part in a content capture day at Principality Stadium – emulating a traditional pre-tournament media day experienced by the national team, which included a behind the scenes tour of the iconic stadium. The Unofficial Squad will also be presented with a personalised scarf and their own framed Welsh shirt for their clubhouse, as mementos of being selected in the Unofficial Squad.

Vicky Wales, Principality’s Chief Customer Officer, said: “As title sponsors of Principality Stadium we wanted to celebrate the deserving club heroes across the country for the continued effort they give to their home club. From the grounds person to the cleaner, to that person who works hard behind the scenes, the Unofficial Squad has been named with individuals whose dedication and commitment makes a massive difference to their local club. Clubhouses and the fans in them are the foundation that Welsh rugby is built upon and the glue that holds rugby communities together.”

The Space Between Co-founder Tom Gladstone said: “Our research showed that Welsh Rugby fans want sponsors to be more proactive in supporting grassroots rugby, which sparked the idea to create our Unofficial Squad campaign, allowing Principality Building Society to shine a light on these well deserving Clubhouse Champions. The response has been staggering – both the number of nominations and the commitment and passion these champions have for their clubs and communities.”