MRF ends partnership with International Cricket Council ahead of 2024 T20 World Cup: Report

With less than a month remaining for the commencement of the 2024 T20 World Cup, MRF has terminated its association with the International Cricket Council (ICC), as reported by News18's CricketNext. Despite their longstanding collaboration with the global cricketing authority, the tire manufacture company has decided not to extend the partnership.

CricketNext's report mentions that along with MRF, other prominent sponsors of ICC are also evaluating their returns on investment or devising exit strategies except for DP World and Aramco. The decision attributes to ICC's perceived deficiencies in marketing and sponsorship management, poor event scheduling, and lack of communication with stakeholders.

As mentioned in the report, a spokesperson aware of the matter stated, “There are multiple factors contributing to this. And the lack of a robust team to keep the sponsors interested is one of the key issues. There have been cases of potential sponsors showing interest, but somehow, thanks to their (the governing body) approach, talks have never really peaked.”

The spokesperson highlights that sponsors assessing their priorities at this time is also reasonable, as the upcoming T20 World Cup will be held in a time zone that doesn't align well with their interests. "And then there is the timezone factor, a major,” adds another expert.

Industry experts quoted in the report says, “The ICC’s primary position has to be towards the development of the game, not getting temporary stadiums involved to host random matches and eye gate revenues. Are they supposed to be the gatekeepers of the game or event organisers? Right now, they’re clearly working like the latter."