Doubts already hang over a proposed 12-a-side rugby competition in England next August.
The new World 12s tournament would feature 192 of the world's best players, picked via auction to represent eight franchises - similar to Indian Premier League cricket.
World 12s Ltd says the competition will take place over three weekends in a round-robin format, before knockouts.
The goal is to bring US$485 million into the sport over the next five years, though it may struggle to find a place in an already overcrowded calendar.
The women's competition will kick off from 2023 to avoid clashing with the women's World Cup, which has been pushed back a year to 2022.
The two competitions will offer equal prizemoney.
"World 12s is a natural evolution for rugby union," says World 12s chairman Ian Ritchie, former Rugby Football Union head.
"We feel that this is a game for our changing, fast-paced world that can excite a global fanbase in the way that we have seen with the IPL or most recently 'The Hundred' in cricket."
The event, also backed by former World Cup-winning coaches Sir Steve Hansen of New Zealand and Jake White of South Africa, will feature eight franchises that will pick 24 players each through an auction.
Coming a few weeks after the widely criticised South Africa v the British & Irish Lions series, fans might be intrigued by the new competition's claims to delivering a more entertaining product in 30-minute matches. Teams will comprise six forwards and six backs.
Hansen believes players will jump at the chance to take part in the new tournament.
"I really think the players will want to be part of this, and they will find a way to push their clubs and unions to look at the calendar," he tells BBC Sport.
"Why do I think this is different? Because the players are going to have a vested interest, they will want to play in it for a number of reasons.
"One, financially, that's the obvious one. Two, I think the concept of being able to spend three weeks with some of the best players in the world and rub shoulders on the training field is too good to turn down.
"You look at the IPL, people want to be there for the money, but they want to be there because of who they are playing with."
Whether it ever gets off the ground remains to be seen, as the game is currently wrestling with player welfare issues against a long-running backdrop of trying to reduce, rather than add fixtures.
A World Rugby spokesperson says: "While we welcome innovative thinking... comprehensive consultation with the organisers is required to understand the viability of the concept, particularly in the context of ongoing global calendar discussions and the priority area of player welfare."
Ritchie says "constructive consultation" with World Rugby and other key stakeholders had begun.
"We want to get World Rugby approval, we want to engage with the unions and the clubs.
"'Rebel' is not a word I would use for this. It is something we want to do on a collaborative basis."
While organisers say the new venture would not dilute existing competitions, the release of players will likely be a sticking point, due to concerns over the playing calendar.
"We would ask stakeholders to give it some thought and consideration," says Ritchie. "It is an exciting prospect for rugby."
Players, whose salaries are tiny by comparison with most of their football and even cricket counterparts, and whose careers are often shortened by injury, might be tempted by the promise of eye-catching payments and prizemoney.
But they will also recognise the challenge of fitting in the new tournament, when unions and clubs will be reluctant to cut their games and suffer the associated financial impact.
Reuters
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