Windies Sponsorship Game Widens

Competiton may serve West Indies cricket well over the next few years -- off the field, that is. Local cricket associations who normally relied a handful of sponsors (Shell, Red Stripe, Cable & Wireless) now have an increase in choice.

The new telecoms operators in the region, both Digicel and AT&T, are poised to make more attempts to influence Caribbean consumers by sponsoring events and sports.

In the Windward Islands, I have confirmed that AT&T has taken over the senior cricket league in at least one island, Dominica, whilst Digicel are also rumoured to have offers on the table for the sponsorship of West Indies cricket which challenges what is on offer from Cable & Wireless, the traditional sponsorship powerhouse in Caribbean sports.

The result is that there is increased benefit for cricket administrators in negotiating both short term and long terms deals with companies who are jostling for superiority.

On the other hand, many of the new sponsors can effectively shape the administration of cricket if they present sponsorship packages that enforce management discipline on the people who effectively control the sponsorship cash.

For too long the Caribbean has witnessed sponsorship deals which has not filtered down into the communities because of the lack of management both by sponsor and by the beneficiary.

That is about to change and that's a refreshing thing.