Opticians chain Specsavers has been named the new title sponsor of the English County Championship after agreeing a deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Specsavers, which has been the ECB’s official optometry and hearing partner since 2014, has signed a four-year title sponsorship agreement with the body. The deal will begin with the upcoming 2016 season and will culminate in the 2019 campaign.
Under the agreement, the company will receive full naming and branding rights around the competition.
Sanjay Patel, the ECB’s commercial director, said: “We’re very pleased to have agreed a four-year deal with Specsavers after holding discussions with several interested parties about this sponsorship package. The County Championship continues to enjoy a strong following and the competition’s geographical spread across 18 different counties will help Specsavers gain wider brand exposure at both regional and national level.”
Specsavers has also served as a principal partner of the Association of Cricket Officials since 2014, an agreement which sees the company’s branding appear on the clothing of umpires during County Championship matches.
Specsavers replaces insurance brand LV= as title sponsor of the County Championship. LV= had been the naming sponsor of the Championship since 2002, having first sponsored the competition under its Frizzell brand.
This year’s County Championship begins on April 10, with Yorkshire seeking its third successive title.