Royal London is to become a major sponsor of the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) from 2014 alongside Waitrose, NatWest and Investec.
The four-year deal includes:
- Royal London One-Day Internationals (men’s ODIs): forty matches over four years against Sri Lanka, India, New Zealand, Australia, Pakistan, West Indies and South Africa
- Royal London Women’s ODIs: schedule to be confirmed
- Royal London One-Day Cup (men’s): county competition which will be 50 overs per side
- Royal London National Club Championship: a knockout tournament in which the top 256 clubs in the country compete
- Royal London Junior County Cups: played in 40 counties for the boys U14, U15 & U17 competitions, and 32 counties for the girls U13, U15 & U17 competitions.
The brand will sponsor the Royal London ODI Series – all matches are shown live on Sky Sports. The 2014 Series against Sri Lanka and India will continue England’s build up towards the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2015, which will be held in Australia and New Zealand.
Phil Loney, Group CEO, said: “Cricket is a very British sport, we are a very British company and we are pleased to be working in partnership with the ECB to help them develop one-day cricket at an international and domestic level. As a mutual, we are particularly pleased to be helping them sustain local communities through the grassroots development of the sport.”
The cricket sponsorship is designed to raise the profile of the Royal London brand with intermediaries and customers alike, and will also provide hospitality opportunities for advisers and other distribution partners.