The growing strength of Women’s sport in an international context has been given additional impetus by the decision of Kia to become the first major stand-alone commercial partner of the England Women’s cricket team.
Kia will be the sole title sponsor for the England team’s home test matches against India and Australia and will have exclusive activation rights around when the team are playing.
The deal is for two years and each of the contracted players will be given use of a Kia Sportage car for the duration of the partnership.
“This agreement between Kia and England Women’s Cricket is a ground-breaking first and reflects the huge success the side has enjoyed over the last 12 months, along with the players’ wider role as superb ambassadors for the sport,” said ECB Chief Executive, David Collier.
“It also illustrates how important media exposure is for the promotion of women’s cricket and we are indebted to our principal live broadcast partners, Sky Sports and BBC Radio, whose excellent coverage plays such a vital role in making the sport attractive to potential business partners.”
This media exposure was also a key factor in the decision earlier this year of Aon to become the official sponsors of the Irish Women’s Rugby team.
RTE Sport Coverage of the Irish team’s RBS Six Nations matches against Italy over the past two years, as well as Sky Sports broadcast of next months Rugby World Cup are thought to have played an important part in determining that the brand would come on board with the Women’s team.
Speaking about the Kia Cricket deal on Tuesday, UK Minister for Sport Helen Grant said:
“This is a significant stride forward for England women’s cricket. Sustained success on the field of play has translated in to an increase in media coverage and commercial value for the sport. I applaud the England players who are fantastic role models and the commercial team at ECB for securing this ground-breaking partnership with Kia.”
