DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has managed to bag as many as seven sponsors for the first ever standalone ICC Women’s World T20 in the West Indies. One of them is Uber as the brand will work alongside the ICC to leverage one of the world’s most popular sports to engage the broader cricketing community in a conversation around the important role sport plays in empowering girls and women around the world.
This global partnership will encompass on-the-ground activation in participating WWT20 countries, in addition to the creation of a six-part digital film series featuring the inspiring stories of female cricketers, watch party and match day promotions across Uber and Uber Eats in participating countries.
Social media will be engaged to celebrate women in sports and various community outreach programs including sponsorships for aspiring female cricketers to join cricket academies and for fans and families to cheer on their heroes live.
Commenting on the partnership, ICC CEO David Richardson said: “Uber is a globally recognised brand and one that is committed to the empowerment of women around the world. As a sport we have also made a commitment to grow the women’s game and it will form one of the pillars of our strategy that will be launched early next year.
“This is a genuine partnership that is focused on our shared values and Uber’s plans are exciting and complement what we’re trying to achieve. The traditional sponsorship model is changing and this collaboration is a reflection of that, it’s about a shared ambition to move women’s cricket forward, tell the story of our sport more broadly and build heroes in our game.”
Uber head of international business Brooks Entwistle said: “We are absolutely delighted to be the first ridesharing and food delivery platform to partner with the ICC for the first ever standalone ICC Women’s World T20. We recognise the best way to change the status quo is to challenge it, and the ICC Women’s World T20 is a powerful showcase of women moving the sport of cricket forward, while uniting and inspiring communities around the world. Together with the ICC, we are committed to supporting more women in sport, and to inspiring and enabling more girls and women to access opportunities, and become the change agents, world leaders and sports champions of tomorrow.”
This will be Uber’s second association with cricket, as India’s men’s cricket captain Virat Kohli is one of its brand ambassadors.
Amongst other sponsors for the WWT20 2018, KFC has joined the bandwagon alongside the likes of Republic Bank, Carib Brewery, Antigua Tourism Authority, Guyana Tourism Authority and St Lucia Tourism Authority. This is a record number of sponsors for any women’s global event.
ICC GM (Commercial) Campbell Jamieson said: “We are delighted to partner with these household names for this event. It is a sign of the growing strength of women’s cricket that we are seeing commercial partners invest in the game.
“We’re looking forward to some high quality cricket which, combined with commercial investment can help us accelerate the growth of the women’s game and take it to as wide as possible an audience globally.”
KFC Guyana GM Paul Subryan said: “KFC Guyana is proud to partner with the ICC Women’s World T20 tournament for what is anticipated to be yet another exhilarating exhibition of women’s cricket. The last ICC Women’s World T20 brought tremendous excitement for fans all around the world and we are delighted that the World T20 this year promises to be even more exciting, given that it is hosted in the West Indies.”
