The International Cricket Council (ICC), which has its headquarters in Dubai, is cricket’s international governing body. The ICC, which represents 108 members, controls and oversees the game and collaborates with its members to advance the sport. The ICC is also in charge of organising all ICC Events.
The ICC is in charge of the ICC Code of Conduct, the playing field, the Decision Review System, and additional ICC rules. All match officials who officiate at all recognised international matches are also appointed by the ICC. It organises action against corruption and match fixing through the Anti-Corruption Unit.
Here we look at companies and brands partnering with ICC:
Oppo is a Chinese telecommunications company founded in 2004 and headquartered in Dongguan, Guangdong. Oppo has sponsored many sports teams and competitions in the past.
Oppo and the ICC first partnered in 2015 in a four-year deal to be the official Mobile Handset and Headset partner of the ICC. In December 2019, the two parties extended their deal until the end of 2023. This deal makes Oppo the official mobile handset and headset partner of the ICC and all associated ICC events starting with the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup, both the Men’s and Women’s T20 World Cups and ICC World Cups.
MRF Ltd, was founded in 1946 as a small toy balloon unit; much later in 1960, the company launched MRF tyres by entering a technical collaboration with Tire & Rubber Company USA.
ICC) and MRF Tyres, a company of automotive tyres, on January 20, 2016, announced a four-year deal which confirmed MRF Tyres as a Global Partner for ICC events from 2016-20, which was further extended by both parties. This deal will make MRF tyres the official automotive partner of the cricket governing body for all its events.
Booking.com is a Dutch online travel agency headquartered in Amsterdam, founded in 1996. Booking.com has sponsored sports organisations and teams in Europe, making big deals worldwide.
ICC and Booking.com announced a strategic five-year deal on March 25, 2019, in which the travel agency will be the exclusive accommodation and attractions booking partner for all ICC events. ICC with Booking.com started ‘Ultimate Cricket Stay’ for fans to experience a unique trip to matches.
Byju’s is an Indian international educational technology company founded in 2011. The billion-dollar edtech company entered the sporting world with cricket sponsorship and now are also sponsoring the FIFA World Cup 2022. Byju’s also became the main sponsor of the Indian cricket team in 2019.
Byju’s announced in February 2021 that they had agreed with ICC to become the global sponsor with an estimated, ?120-130 crore (~ $16 million) deal. Byju’s signed this three-year deal with the ICC at a time when India was set to host competitions like the T20 World Cup in 2021 and the ICC World Cup in 2023. As a global partner, Byju’s will have extensive in-venue, broadcast, and digital rights across all ICC events.
Emirates is a UAE-based airline company, a subsidiary of The Emirates Group, which is owned by Investment Corporation of Dubai, founded in 1985. Emirates is a big name heard across the world in sports; they have been sponsoring several big teams and competitions for over a decade now.
Emirates first sponsored the ICC in 2002; in 2007, Emirates strengthened its relationship with the ICC and became the official sponsor of the ICC’s elite panel of umpires and match referees from 2007-2015. In 2016, the ICC and Emirates renewed their deal and extended it to 2023 with a seven-year deal.
With this extended deal, Emirates will continue its sponsorship of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires and Match Referees; with the Fly Emirates logo being displayed prominently on the umpires’ clothing when they are officiating at all international cricket matches.
Bira91 is an Indian craft beer brand manufactured by B9 Beverages Pvt. Ltd., launched in 2015. Bira91 sponsors Delhi Capital, an Indian Premier League (IPL) team.
In November 2018, Bira91 entered into a five-year partnership with ICC, which runs through 2023. Bira91 is confirmed as the official sponsor of ICC global tournaments including the ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC T20 World Cup, ICC World Test Championship, ICC U19 Cricket World Cup and the ICC Women’s Championship. Bira 91 will integrate the partnership across broadcast and digital platforms, and in-venue activations at all ICC events through their range of products.
Coca-Cola is an American multinational beverage company founded in 1886. With one of the most iconic names in the beverage industry, Coca-Cola is also known for their variety of sponsorships across the world, especially in the sports industry.
Coca-Cola took a bigger step in the cricket world by announcing a five-year deal with the ICC in July 2019. This partnership through 2024 includes all ICC events around the world, including the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 in England and Wales, the ICC men’s and women’s T20 World Cup in Australia in 2020, the ICC Women’s World Cup 2021 in New Zealand and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India in 2023 among other global tournaments.
Upstox is an online investment brand based in Mumbai, India, founded in 2010. It’s an upcoming company that has started to thicken its portfolio in sponsorships.
Upstox and the ICC have agreed to a partnership deal from 2021 through 2023, which makes Upstox an official partner of the cricket organisation.
BharatPe is an offline acquirer of merchants, providing a QR code for UPI payments, a POS machine for card acceptance, and loans to small merchants. The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in New Delhi, India.
BharatPe on June 7, 2021, that they have agreed to a partnership with ICC on a three-year deal to become their official partner. As per the agreement, BharatPe will promote the association across broadcast and digital platforms and execute in-venue brand activations at all the ICC events until 2023.
The key tournaments include the upcoming ICC World Test Championship (Southampton, UK 2021), Men’s T20 World Cup (India, 2021), Men’s T20 World Cup (Australia, 2022), Women’s World Cup (New Zealand, 2022), U19 Cricket World Cup (West Indies, 2022), Women’s T20 World Cup (South Africa, 2022), Men’s Cricket World Cup (India, 2023) and World Test Championship (2023).
Nium is a fintech company with a global platform for modern money movement whose payment and card issuing solutions serve businesses. Nium was founded in 2015 and is based in Mumbai, India.
ICC announced in October 2021, that they are inking an agreement with the fintech company, Nium as their official fintech infrastructure partner. As an official partner of the ICC, Nium will promote its association across broadcast and digital platforms and execute unique fan and client activations at these ICC events. This partnership will enable Nium to engage the global cricket-loving business fanbase with innovative campaigns that highlight the power of fintech in helping make the global money movement faster, safer, and easier.
Star Sports is a sports broadcasting network founded in 1991. The Walt Disney Company India acquired Star Sports in 2019 for the Indo-Pacific region.
After a thorough tender process, ICC awarded Star Sports the global broadcasting rights for all ICC events from 2015 through 2023. This included exclusive live and highlights rights across all platforms for ICC major events – the ICC Cricket World Cup and its qualifiers, the ICC Women’s World Cup, the ICC World Twenty20 and its qualifiers, the ICC Champions Trophy and the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
ICC announced electrical goods company Polycab as an Official Partner of all the major ICC events in 2023, following a partnership agreement in February 2023. The partnership sees Polycab serve as a sponsor for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa, the ICC World Test Championship Final in the UK, and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 scheduled in India.
ICC partnered with Aramco in October 2022, with the integrated energy and chemicals firm joining as a Global Partner on a multi-year deal. The partnership sees Aramco sponsor major ICC events such as the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 in South Africa, the ICC World Test Championship Final in the UK, and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in India. Aramco also holds the naming rights for the ICC Player of the March awards at the events.
TYKA was announced as an Official Partner of the ICC following their partnership in October 2021. TYKA served as the Official Apparel Supplier of the Men’s T20 World Cup in 2021 and since then provides all match official uniforms and tournament staff clothings for the major ICC events.
The ICC partnered with cricket NFT platform FanCraze in January 2022, with FanCraze launching Crictos, the official and exclusive digital collectibles range that captures some of the greatest and most memorable moments in international cricket.
Royal Stag is an Indian brand of whiskey launched in 1995. The liquor company has a very old sports sponsorship portfolio; in which they sponsor teams like the West Indies cricket team, Delhi Capitals, and Royal Challenger Bangalore in IPL, etc.
Pernod Ricard India Pvt Ltd, the makers of whisky brand Royal Stag, has signed a five-year global partnership with the ICC. Sports marketing experts estimate the size of Royal Stag’s sponsorship deal to be $5-6 million per year.
As an official partner, Royal Stag will have a comprehensive presence across broadcast, digital and on-ground activations of all ICC global tournaments, including the 2019 World Cup, T20 World Cup, World Test Championship and U19 World Cup and Women’s World Cup.
Orlando Wines, an Australian company, was founded in 1847, well known for its Jacob’s Creek wine, first released in 1976.
Australian bottled wine brand Jacob’s Creek June 2021, announced that it has partnered with International Cricket Council (ICC) as the official wine partner. The three-year-long strategic partnership began with the inaugural World Test Championship Final 2021 taking place in Southampton, from 18 to 22 June 2021.
As the official wine partner of World T20 Cup Final, Jacob’s Creek will have exclusive pouring rights for the event, branding at in-stadia bars, stadiums, and digital broadcast advertising.
Dream11 is an Indian fantasy sports platform founded in 2008 that allows users to play fantasy cricket, hockey, football, kabaddi, handball and basketball.
On November 13, 2018, Dream11 announced its exclusive worldwide partnership with the global governing body of Cricket – ICC as its ‘Official Fantasy Game Partner’ until 2023.
With Dream11, cricket fans have the opportunity to select their fantasy teams once the official team squads are announced, for all official ICC global events. In addition to this, Dream11 will be integrated across all branding and marketing collateral for ICC events.
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