that country, but is not recognised as part of the annual continuity of the main tournament. Italian participation since 2010–11 The Celtic League board met in November 2008 to explore the possibility of Italian participation; the chief executive of the Welsh Rugby Union, Roger Lewis, stated that the league was looking "favourably" on Italian participation. Following a 19 December 2008 board meeting of the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) to discuss proposals to improve Italian rugby, FIR announced that it would submit a proposal to join the Celtic League. FIR had two possibilities – either entering four existing Italian clubs from the National Championship of Excellence into the league; or creating two teams of Italy-qualified players exclusively for the competition. On 18 July 2009, the FIR announced that Aironi and Praetorians Roma would compete in the Celtic League from the start of the 2010–11 season – beating bids from Benetton Treviso and Duchi Nord-Ovest. Praetorians would be based in Rome at the Stadio Flaminio, while Aironi would be based in Viadana but would play some matches in the city of Reggio Emilia. On 2 October 2009, the FIR proposed Benetton Treviso in place of Praetorians Roma. On 28 January 2010, the FIR declared that they had withdrawn from negotiations with the Celtic League regarding two Italian teams joining the tournament, with the main issue being a €3 million warranty asked for by the league, but by 7 February, the Italian clubs had come up with the required funding. By 8 March 2010, a deal had been finalised for Aironi and Benetton Treviso to enter the Celtic League from the 2010–11 season, with each team guaranteed a place in the Heineken Cup. At the end of the 2011–12 season, however, Aironi were no longer available to compete in future competitions as a regional club, as, on 6 April 2012, they were refused a licence to continue on financial grounds. They were replaced by another Italian side, Zebre (now Zebre Parma). Former teams Notes: Before regionalisation, Wales was represented by nine Welsh Premiership clubs from 2001 to 2003. Aironi was replaced by Zebre, meaning that the number of Italian teams remained at two. The Border Reivers were disbanded by the Scottish Rugby Union as part of cost-cutting measures. Other nations After the successful negotiations with Italy, talks were held intermittently with South Africa about the possible expansion of the Pro12. A 24-team Rainbow