The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is open to offers for two more sponsorship packages to complete the portfolio for its new limited-overs competition, The Hundred.
Currently, its sponsorship portfolio includes online automotive retailer Cazoo as Principal Sponsor and KP Snacks as front-of-shirt sponsor across all eight of the tournament’s franchises. There are also deals in place with headwear manufacturer New Era, Unilever brands Lifebuoy and Sure, New Balance, life insurance firm Vitality and cricket helmet specialists Masuri. The Unilever agreement, announced in December was reportedly worth £10m across a five-year contract.
SportBusiness understands that the ECB is now looking to add two more brands to this ahead of the tournament’s inaugural season during the UK summer of 2021 even though it is thought to have already exceeded its originally budgeted sponsorship revenue.
The governing body is particularly interested in talking to innovative companies in the financial technology, digital banking and food delivery sectors.
The tournament was originally scheduled to begin in 2020, but the first edition was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The ECB is committed to launching the event in 2021 and whilst it will naturally adhere to all government guidelines on the issue, the organisation is hopeful there will at least be scope for some fans in attendance this summer.
The tournament is made of eight franchises from Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, Birmingham, Cardiff, Southampton and two in London, each fielding a men’s and women’s team.
Sky and the BBC hold the broadcast rights to the event and the first match and the finals will be live on the BBC, meaning free-to-air coverage is available in the UK as the ECB looks to reach a new audience with its new concept.
The men’s player draft reveal will take place on Tuesday February 23.
John Stephenson
john@cricketinvestor.co.uk
#Cricketnews #ECB #TheHundred
