Crickets popularity needs no introduction. With the United States hosting the World Cup, and the game’s prominence now reaching beyond its adopted homeland of India, cricket has become a magnet for hundreds of millions of fans. Sponsors have not been too slow to act either, with cricket now seeping in every walk of life and culture, including in popular live casino games of the same calibre as Extreme Lightning Roulette by Evolution Gaming.
Today, we will take a closer look at the game’s biggest sponsors, and why multi-national corporations are finding a strong appeal to throw their weight behind a sport that has long been popular only in certain countries. One explanation is that cricket is finally making its big debut on the international stage. It’s well deserved if you ask the fans.
The biggest airlines and cricket
Emirates, the Dubai-headquartered airline, has been one of the major sponsors of the ICC since 2022. The company has established itself as a reliable partner of the competition and has pre-emptively sought to secure recognition and awareness for its name. It was a smart call.
Cricket in 2022 was just recovering after the pandemic with pent-up demand mounting and Emirates realising that they had a golden opportunity to actually tap into a market few other corporations were prepared to or equally zealous to explore.
Has this play paid off? It’s a bit hard to say. Emirates is still very much sponsoring the event in 2024, and by all estimates, the company is bound to continue doing so in the future.
More companies clamouring to sponsor ICC and cricket
Of course, Emirates is not the only company that has realised how important the ICC and other cricket events can be. ICC is auctioning off its sponsorship slots for $8 million to $10 million at least, which is a really good amount.
To get an idea of how much the ICC actually earns though, it suffices to say that the tournament is said to be generating between $120 and $150 million during the six weeks of competition, which impacts the organization’s finances. Of course, this amount is still quite small compared to Euro 2024, for example, which is said to have generated €331 million in sponsorship deals, but interest in cricket is definitely soaring if you ask investors.
Speaking of investors, some of the other popular ones are MRF Tyres, Booking.com, IndusInd Bank, MasterCard, and not least Aramco. These sponsors have been coming back for seconds and have generally checked in with the cricket’s biggest and largest events, ensuring that their names are visible.
Will cricket sponsorships continue to be big?
The answer is a most definite yes. There are many good reasons why sponsorships in sports work. It’s one of the best ways to reach consumers. The companies that are advertising are specifically consumer-driven. They have a product and want to place it with millions of people.
Building consumer brand awareness is a difficult task but platforms such as sports, and especially the ICC and cricket are some of the best ways to actually reach wider audiences and establish yourself firmly on the scene as a corporation. MasterCard makes payments easier.
Emirates could be your next flight you take. MRF Tyres want you to buy their, well, tyres, and as to Booking.com, the platform wants you to know that you can always turn to it to book your next vacation. Cricket is also winning big from these sponsorships.
Having cultivated a vibrant sports ecosystem, the time has come for cricket tournaments to reap the benefits. Offering access to hundreds of millions of customers, events can bank on huge partnerships. The game is also actively moving to the United States where it is hoping to make a bigger splash with local audiences, which is absolutely possible.
As cricket makes its way into richer countries, the amounts splurged on sponsorships will also go one way – up.
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