Europcar named as local sponsor for ICC Champions Trophy
The International Cricket Council has announced Europcar as a local sponsor for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2009, which takes place in South Africa from 22 September to 5 October.
The agreement, which is for this event only, will establish Europcar as the supplier of team coaches as well as small vehicles that will be used for event staff, tournament officials and VIPs.
"We are delighted that Europcar has decided to come on board as a sponsor for this prestigious event," said ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat.
"Europcar is one of 10 sponsors that we have which validates the popularity and attractiveness of international one-day cricket and events such as the ICC Champions Trophy to potential sponsors," he said.
"Having the ICC Champions Trophy in one location and involving just the top eight-ranked teams together for a short, sharp and prestigious event while offering total prize money of US$4million is really creating a buzz around this year's tournament and is attracting high-class sponsors such as Europcar," he added.
Europcar brand manager Peter Retief said: "We are proud to be a sponsor of such a high-class event as the ICC Champions Trophy."
"The game of cricket is exactly the right image for Europcar's brand and this tournament will provide a wide platform for the company to demonstrate and communicate its message of superior service," he said.
For the first time the ICC CT will feature only the top eight sides in the world in the only global multi-team 50-over-a-side tournament between the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean and the next edition of that event, in the Asian sub-continent in two years' time.
Those teams - Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, host South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies - have been divided into two pools of four, with the top two from each pool progressing to the semi-finals stage.
The action begins on Tuesday 22 September with the Proteas in action against Sri Lanka in a day-night encounter at Centurion (the location for the women's world cup final of 2005) and it will end with a day-night final at the same venue on Monday 5 October.
Fans can also book tickets through Computicket by telephone on +2783 915 8000 or by dropping in to any one of Computicket's offices at hundreds of locations around South Africa.
Tickets, including those for the grass banks, can also be purchased directly from the two stadiums at The Wanderers (Tel: +2711 340 1509) and Centurion (Tel: +2712 663 1005 extn 7).