MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Coca-Cola announced their five-year global strategic partnership on 30 January 2019. The partnership will see The Coca-Cola Company’s brands becoming exclusive non-alcoholic beverage partners of the ICC until 2023.

The five-year agreement includes all ICC events around the world including the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 in England and Wales, the ICC men’s and women’s T20 World Cups in Australia in 2020, the ICC Women’s World Cup 2021 in New Zealand and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India in 2023 amongst other global tournaments.

Speaking on the occasion, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia president T Krishnakumar said, “Cricket is a global sport and a passion shared by more than a billion people across gender, generations and cultures. In-line with our long history of partnering with major sporting events globally, our strategic partnership with ICC, reinforces our long-standing commitment to refresh sports fans and enhance their entertainment experience. We look forward to delighting our consumers with our diverse portfolio and engagement opportunities to create unique experiences for fans through the next five years and even beyond that.”

Importantly, the partnership will strategically align both the ICC and The Coca-Cola Company for the long-term by combining the strength of The Coca-Cola Company’s diversified portfolio of over 500 brands as well as worldwide reach with ICC’s ambition to expand the sport’s footprint globally.

Commenting on the partnership, ICC chief executive David Richardson said: “It is our pleasure to welcome Coca-Cola on board as an ICC partner for the next five years. As one of the world’s biggest sports with more than 1 billion fans, we are delighted to partner with Coca-Cola, one of the biggest brands in the world. The ICC is committed to growing the game worldwide and the popularity of the three formats with pinnacle global events in each makes this an exciting time for major brands to be associated with our sport.”

The Coca-Cola Company has an eight-decade long association with Olympics, four decades with the FIFA and nearly 25 years with World Cup Rugby. The associations stem from Coca-Cola’s philosophy of being part of consumers’ lives and their passions.

India is a strategic market for TCCC and Coca-Cola India is well on its path to become the fifth largest volume market in the Coca-Cola system. Recently, Coca-Cola India celebrated its 25th-anniversary milestone in India and is focused on introducing innovative and localized beverages that suit the consumer tastes and preferences specific to the regions.