Extended Partnership with West Indies Cricket Board until 2012 Brings More Funds and Support for Development of Game

CEO of the West Indies Cricket Board, Bruce Aanensen and Kevin White, COO of Digicel Group Caribbean sign the renewed partnership agreement between the WICB and Digicel which extends the arrangement until September 2012.

PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD,
July 16, 2007 – Digicel, the Caribbean’s leading mobile provider, and the West Indies Cricket Board, announced today that it will enter a new extended partnership arrangement until September 2012 that will provide the support that West Indies cricket needs to further establish their position as a dominant cricketing force.

The agreement guarantees yearly sponsorship payments of at least US$4 million and includes the continuation of the Digicel player incentive fund and a comprehensive youth programme. At the same time, Digicel will continue its own programme of development initiatives such as the Digicel Cricket Scholarship and Training Clinics and has expressed its willingness to be part of the proposed Academy for West Indies cricket.
The new contract, which comes into effect ahead of the Windies away tour to South Africa in October 2007, offers enhanced opportunities for the WICB to attract more corporate sponsorship of West Indies cricket. These include branding rights at test match grounds and sponsorship rights to any tri-nations series the WICB might develop.
“The West Indies Cricket Board places great value on Digicel’s partnership with West Indies Cricket and is pleased to have evolved our relationship in the best interest of West Indies cricket” said WICB President Ken Gordon. “The company is as committed as we are to a common vision of returning West Indies cricket to the top of world rankings. Even when our cricketing fortunes are in decline, Digicel has demonstrated unswerving faith in our powers of recovery. The partnership provides Windies cricket with valuable support in reaching this goal”.