London: With Vodafone deciding not to renew a four-million-pound-a-year sponsorship deal with it, the England and Wales Cricket Board fears a new financial backer would be hard to find in the middle of worsening economic crisis and reduced state funding.
The four-year agreement with the telecom giant ends after England's tour to South Africa next winter and the ECB is already losing sleep over finding a new sponsor.
"This is the first downturn in the period. It is going to be more difficult than the past, but cricket audience and media exposure are excellent and it will be down to the way we handle the market place. Renewals and extensions are easier to secure than new partners," admitted ECB commercial director John Perera.
Chairman of Sports Impact John Taylor, who negotiated sponsorship deals between the ECB and Tetley's and npower, said the ECB will find a sponsor nonetheless but the "question is at what price?" "The market is difficult at the moment. The top deals are still being done and smaller deals are still there, but the middle is being squeezed," he said.
© Copyright 2008 PTI. All rights reserved
The four-year agreement with the telecom giant ends after England's tour to South Africa next winter and the ECB is already losing sleep over finding a new sponsor.
"This is the first downturn in the period. It is going to be more difficult than the past, but cricket audience and media exposure are excellent and it will be down to the way we handle the market place. Renewals and extensions are easier to secure than new partners," admitted ECB commercial director John Perera.
Chairman of Sports Impact John Taylor, who negotiated sponsorship deals between the ECB and Tetley's and npower, said the ECB will find a sponsor nonetheless but the "question is at what price?" "The market is difficult at the moment. The top deals are still being done and smaller deals are still there, but the middle is being squeezed," he said.
© Copyright 2008 PTI. All rights reserved
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