Council launches legal action to block Cardiff Rugby sale

Swansea Council has launched formal legal action against the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) in a bid to halt the proposed sale of Cardiff Rugby to Y11 Sport & Media.

The Council argues that the WRU’s agreement with Y11 — which already owns the Ospreys — breaches UK competition law and undermines the integrity of the governing body’s own restructuring process for the men’s professional game.

In October 2025, the WRU announced plans to reduce the number of Wales’s professional men’s regional teams from four to three by 2027. Two months later, it stated that if agreement could not be reached by the end of January 2026, a six-month open tender process would be launched.

However, Swansea Council claims that within weeks the WRU moved to strike a direct deal to sell Cardiff Rugby to Y11, bypassing the competitive process it had publicly committed to.

The WRU had rescued Cardiff Rugby from administration in April 2025 at a reported cost of around £9 million.

Council leader Cllr Rob Stewart said the authority had been left with no alternative but to challenge the decision through the courts.

“We have serious legal concerns about the proposed sale of Cardiff Rugby to Y11 and the WRU’s decision to cut the number of regional teams from four to three,” he said.

“We believe the WRU’s actions breach competition law, and we intend to challenge their process in court.”

The legal action follows a separate request by Swansea Council for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate the proposed transaction.

Cllr Stewart warned that if the sale proceeds, the Ospreys could cease to exist as a professional regional team after the 2026/27 season.

“We are taking steps to challenge a process that threatens the future of regional rugby in Swansea,” he said.

“If this deal proceeds then the Ospreys will cease to exist as a professional regional team at the end of the 2026/27 season, based on what we’ve been told.

“We believe the WRU has acted unlawfully, and we will continue fighting on behalf of the Ospreys and rugby supporters across Wales.”

Significant concerns

Celine Jones, of Capital Law, which is acting for the Council, said the proposed sale and reduction in regional licences raised significant concerns.

“The potential sale of Cardiff Rugby by the WRU to Y11 — the owner of the Ospreys — and the decision to reduce the licences from four to three (with Cardiff Rugby being guaranteed one of the three) raises valid concerns which the court and the CMA are being asked to investigate,” she said.

The WRU has provided written confirmation that it will not complete the deal before 16 March, when Swansea Council’s application for an injunction to pause the transaction is due to be heard at the High Court.