Antoine Dupont loves L.A.
So much so that the France captain has joined the ownership group of a Los Angeles rugby club.
It's good timing for the sport, too, as it attempts to boost its profile in the United States.
Rugby Football Club Los Angeles said the 28-year-old scrumhalf, one of the world's best rugby union players but currently sidelined with a knee injury, and his company Ouest Coast have joined its ownership group. No financial details were released.
Dupont led France to a rugby sevens gold medal at the Paris Olympics last summer after switching his attention from the traditional 15s format. Sevens remains on the program for the 2028 LA Games.
He's no stranger to the Los Angeles area, having visited following the Olympics.
While there, Dupont spent a day at the training facility of the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers. He showed head coach Jim Harbaugh how to pass a rugby ball, kicked some field goals and went through a training session, calling the whole thing “an amazing experience.”
RFCLA said Friday that Dupont can bring “global star power” to the club and Major League Rugby, which launched in 2018.
“Los Angeles is a unique place,” Dupont said in the announcement, "combining the best of sports, entertainment, fashion, and culture — I can’t think of any other place that provides such opportunities for youth development, high performance, and commercial success to go hand-in-hand.”
The Men's Rugby World Cup will be staged in the U.S. for the first time in 2031 and the women’s tournament two years later. World Rugby — the sport’s international governing body — has long viewed the U.S. as an area of untapped potential.
“Rugby is more than just a sport; it’s a community with strong values,” Dupont said. “Beyond competitive success on the pitch for RFCLA, I am excited by the opportunity to grow rugby's popularity in the States and establish an energetic hub of rugby culture that attracts players, fans, teams, and partners from around the world.”
___
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
Ken Maguire, The Associated Press
