The rugby federations of Georgia, Portugal, Romania and Spain have established the Four Nations Alliance, an organisation that will operate within Rugby Europe and World Rugby, the Romanian Rugby Federation informs on Friday in a press release.

The alliance will put forward proposals to improve rugby across the region. It will also defend the common interests of its members concerning competitions, the competition calendar, funding and governance, acting in a coordinated manner.

'The rugby federations of Georgia, Portugal, Romania and Spain have signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing the Four Nations Alliance. It is a strategic alliance between four high-performance European federations that are outside the Six Nations. The initiative took shape at a meeting of the four federations held in Georgia in September. The alliance aims to join forces for development in all areas, from sporting to financial, commercial and institutional matters. The four nations want to strengthen rugby in their countries, become more competitive on the international stage and build a stronger and more sustainable economy for the sport,' the press release said.

According to the Romanian Rugby Federation, the alliance's main objectives include cooperation in high performance, coach education and junior/youth rugby, a study into new, higher-level competition formats between member nations, joint commercial opportunities and coordinated positions within international governing bodies.

The alliance will be led by a Coordinating Committee with a rotating presidency.

'We now have a stronger voice to continue making progress,' said David Kacearava, president of the Georgian Rugby Union.

'This alliance strengthens Portugal's ambition to grow and establish itself at the highest level of international rugby,' said Carlos Amado da Silva, president of the Portuguese Rugby Federation.

Romanian Rugby Federation president Alin Petrache said he was delighted that the Four Nations Alliance would act as a common voice: 'We are extremely pleased that, for the first time, we have a common voice.'

'We are very happy to have reached an agreement that will facilitate the transformation process we are engaged in,' said Juan Carlos Martin Hansen, president of the Spanish Rugby Federation.

The founding members who signed the memorandum are: from Georgia: David Kacearava, president, and Vasil Abashidze, CEO of the Georgian Rugby Union, together with George Nijaradze, a World Rugby Council member; from Portugal: Carlos Amado da Silva, president, and Frederico Sousa, High Performance Director of the Portuguese Rugby Federation; from
Romania: Alin Petrache, president of the Romanian Rugby Federation; from Spain: Juan Carlos Martin Hansen, president, and Gabriel Saez, vice-president of the Spanish Rugby Federation. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Adrian Tone; EN - writing by: Cristina Zaharia)