The International Cricket Council has signed a wide-ranging partnership with ridesharing and food delivery platform Uber that will centre on the first ever standalone Women’s World T20 tournament in the West Indies.
Due to get underway tomorrow (Friday), the ICC and Uber will seek to use the WWT20 to engage the broader cricketing community in a conversation around the important role sport plays in empowering girls and women around the world.
The global partnership will encompass on-the-ground activation in participating WWT20 countries, in addition to the creation of a six-part digital film series featuring the stories of female cricketers, and watch party and matchday promotions across Uber and Uber Eats in participating countries.
Social media will be engaged to celebrate women in sports, while various community outreach programs will be launched including sponsorships for aspiring female cricketers to join cricket academies and for fans and families to cheer on the players live.
David Richardson, chief executive of the ICC, said: “Uber is a globally-recognised brand and one that is committed to the empowerment of women around the world. As a sport we have also made a commitment to grow the women’s game and it will form one of the pillars of our strategy that will be launched early next year.
“This is a genuine partnership that is focused on our shared values and Uber’s plans are exciting and complement what we’re trying to achieve. The traditional sponsorship model is changing and this collaboration is a reflection of that, it’s about a shared ambition to move women’s cricket forward, telling the story of our sport more broadly and building heroes in our game.”
The 2018 Women’s World T20 will run through to November 24. Having previously been staged alongside the men’s event, the 10-team tournament will be played as a standalone competition for the first time between Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies.