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The All Blacks got in the mood for a game against Australia with their Haka last year
Photo:
Chris Hyde / Getty Images
The story of the All Blacks cannot be told without the haka.
The ritual dance performed by the New Zealand national rugby team before each international match.
In honor of the Maori - the indigenous people of New Zealand - they get themselves and their opponents in the mood for the game with loud screams, a lot of tongue use and martial movements.
Motivation for your own team, intimidation for your opponent.
The Haka also plays a central role in the discussion about the future of the All Blacks that is currently being held in New Zealand.
It's about a lot of money, but also about traditions - and player influence.
Like all sports, rugby has suffered from the corona pandemic.
Fewer games, no spectators, hardly any travel.
Under these conditions, the All Blacks only played six games last year, with New Zealand playing up to 15 international matches in normal years.
This resulted in a loss of the equivalent of 20.5 million euros for 2020.
The New Zealand Rugby Federation (NZR) is financially troubled.
Parts of the All Blacks are to be sold
Therefore, NZR is aiming to sell shares in the All Blacks. There is a specific offer from US investor Silver Lake Partners, the private equity corporation wants to acquire 12.5 percent of the commercial rights to New Zealand rugby for 230 million euros. “We believe this is an exciting opportunity that all of sport can benefit from for generations to come,” said Mark Robinson, former All Blacks player and now NZR chairman.
Robinson was able to convince his board colleagues as well as the 26 regional rugby associations in the country and the influential Maori rugby board.
The calculation is simple: over 23 million euros from the sales amount are to arrive at the regional base, where financial pressure has also increased massively in the past year.
The officials see the future of their sport in jeopardy, and the income is primarily intended to strengthen the promotion of young talent.
Silver Lake doesn't want to invest in sports for the first time.
The investors have already acquired shares in the New York Knicks from the NBA or the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
In 2019, Silver Lake also acquired Manchester City, where the company holds ten percent of the shares.
Players union must agree
Critics of the all-blacks deal therefore refer to the European Super League in football, as reported by the Guardian.
The 48-hour rise and fall of the Super League has shown that US investors - like John Henry at Liverpool FC or the Glazer family at Manchester United - act primarily out of monetary interests and ignore the traditions of a sport.
In New Zealand, the players' union NZRPA leads the protest against the sale of the shares.
This is very important because the players have to agree to the contract.
And that is not in sight for the time being, the negotiations have been interrupted - albeit with the prospect of resumption.
"The All Blacks are the team from all of New Zealand and that's why we don't want commerce to come too much into the foreground," said national player Dane Coles on TVNZ. "We cannot and do not want to take away the heritage and history of their sport from the New Zealanders and appear like TV shows or comic books that are being destroyed." also have fans connected. However, since the All Blacks have not yet played any games in 2021, they lack the stage for their own actions.
The NZRPA fears the investor's influence.
More games could be scheduled in order to be able to present the All Blacks brand more frequently.
Or sacred traditions and symbols - like the haka - could be commercialized.
The rugby association NZR wants to contractually exclude such scenarios and is urging a quick decision.
The Super League experience has not made the negotiations any easier.