Monaco’s two pillars of the oval ball, the Fédération Monégasque de Rugby (FMR) and AS Monaco Rugby (ASM), have formalised a long-planned partnership to accelerate the sport’s growth across the Principality. The agreement aligns strategy from mini-rugby to seniors, focusing on shared expertise, pooled resources and a single, stronger voice for sponsors and institutions.
What the pact actually does
According to the announcement, the tie-up is “structuring” rather than a merger: each entity keeps its projects, but staff and know-how will be shared to raise standards in coaching, performance and administration. This includes coordination of community programmes, youth development and partner outreach, essentially removing duplication and letting Monaco speak with one rugby voice. Thomas Riqué, president of ASM Rugby, is obviously enthusiastic about this partnership, which aims to continue to grow and evolve.
Royal Momentum
The partnership lands at a moment when rugby enjoys high profile in Monaco. H.S.H. Princess Charlene, now President of the FMR, has made rugby a flagship cause, seen most visibly at the Sainte Dévote youth tournament and the Rugby Exchange with South Africa. Her leadership and the Foundation’s programmes have become a force-multiplier for local clubs and the national setup.
A performance platform to build on
On the field, Monaco arrives with momentum. The national sevens programme and the Monaco Impis enjoyed a breakout year, winning Rugby Europe’s Men’s 7s Conference 1 in Andorra (June 2025) and targeting podiums on the elite sevens circuit. Those results, delivered by a staff featuring figures such as David Bolgashvili, prove that a small federation can punch above its weight with the right structures.
At club level, ASM brings six decades of continuity and a broad playing base, celebrating its 1964 founding and recent milestones that underscore its “family” identity alongside competitive ambition in the French leagues. The club’s depth, from seniors to an expanding école de rugby, makes it the natural pathway for home-grown Monegasque talent.
Pathway, people, and the “academy” idea
The collaboration also targets the U16–U19 pathway, with ideas for an academy-style approach to push local players toward the highest amateur levels and feed both the federation and ASM squads. It dovetails with Monaco’s existing youth engine, the Sainte Dévote tournament at Stade Louis-II, and the South Africa–Monaco exchange that exposes prospects to top-tier rugby environments.
The staffing pool already overlaps across sevens and XVs: recent seasons have seen technical leaders such as David Bolgashvili (national 7s/Impis), Nicolas Bonnet (national setup/Impis), and Fabien Camin (now Head Coach of Monaco Rugby Sevens for 2025/26) take key roles. Coordinating these profiles under one framework should make talent ID, conditioning and game-model alignment far more efficient.
Why it matters for Monaco
For a micro-state competing in France’s rugby ecosystem, scale and clarity are everything. A unified pathway, shared back-room resources and joined-up sponsorship strategy can shorten the distance from junior rugby in the Principality to senior competition in France, while anchoring the sport in Monaco’s schools and neighbourhoods. If the recent European title in sevens was the proof of concept, this agreement is the blueprint to make it sustainable.
Bottom line: Monaco rugby isn’t merging so much as locking arms. With the Federation and ASM rowing in the same direction, and with royal fans, a thriving youth pipeline and proven sevens success, the Principality is building the kind of rugby ecosystem that can last.
