The International Cricket Council (ICC) and MoneyGram, a global money transfer and payments services company, have extended their sponsorship agreement by eight years (2016-2023).
The previous five-year sponsorship from 2010 covered the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies, and the 2011 and 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup in India and Australia and New Zealand.
“I am delighted that MoneyGram has decided to extend their partnership by another eight years. The ICC’s aim is to make cricket the most popular sport in the world by 2019. More than 1.5 billion people watched the 2015 World Cup played in Australia and New Zealand. Now preparations are underway for the ICC under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh and the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in India,” said David Richardson, CEO, ICC.
Sponsorship dealExplaining his company’s decision to extend the sponsorship with ICC, MoneyGram’s Juan Agualimpia, executive vice-president, business development and chief marketing officer, said: “Our return of investment has exceeded expectations. Cricket touches many lives and it’s truly exciting to be part of this sport and witnessing its potential to inspire and transform lives first hand.”
Former India player Zaheer Khan, who was present at the occasion, described a T20 match like the “first 15 overs and last five overs of an ODI.
“It has been amazing, you see a lot of changes. It has added excitement to the game I would say. The spectators really enjoy and look forward to those situations of the game. You also see a lot of innovations; the batsmen try different strokes and even the bowlers have to keep up with the moving game. The game has become more dynamic. It has attracted new followers who were finding the game too lengthy otherwise. It has added a new dimension and a different approach to the game overall. You see the impact of T20 in ODIs and Test matches as well. The game is moving at a rapid pace and also evolving with time.”
Talking about home advantage for the coming ICC T20 World Cup in India, he said: “The format is really such that it (home advantage) really doesn’t matter much. Knowing the sub-continental conditions can play a part. If you are good enough to deal with spin, it can be an added advantage. I would like to see India win. Playing at home is an advantage; it brings in added pressure as well, but it’s a lot more exciting playing in front of home fans,” said Zaheer.
