MoneyGram International (NYSE: MGI), a global leader in money transfers, on Wednesday announced that the company has signed a long-term sponsorship agreement with the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Per the agreement, MoneyGram will have a presence at all ICC cricket tournaments around the world during 2011-2015. More immediately, MoneyGram will be a local partner level sponsor of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, which takes place in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka from Feb. 19 to April 2, 2011.
?MoneyGram is delighted about our long-term sponsorship with the ICC,? said Juan Agualimpia, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of MoneyGram International.
?The ICC?s flagship event is the ICC Cricket World Cup and we are excited to have MoneyGram, a global brand that resonates well with cricket fans, be a sponsor of the event,? said Haroon Lorgat, ICC?s chief executive.
MoneyGram announced its sponsorship agreement during a press conference in Mumbai today, which was attended by ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat and international cricketer, Ashish Nehra, who represents India in international competition and participated in the last ICC Cricket World Cup in 2007 in the West Indies.
This is MoneyGram?s second foray into sponsorship of the sport as the company sponsored the ICC?s Twenty 20 World Cup 2010, held in May the West Indies.
India, which has the largest base of cricket fans in the world, is one of the largest money transfer markets in the world with more than $48 billion in remittances sent to India in 2009, according to the World Bank.