ECB And LV= General Insurance Launch Multi-Year Partnership

LV= General Insurance is to become the title partner for England Men’s and Women’s domestic Test Series’ – including the 2023 Ashes Series – and the County Championship for the next three years. Today’s announcement follows last November’s launch of #Funds4Runs, a £1 million joint investment between the ECB and LV= General Insurance to support focus areas of the grassroots cricket community impacted by COVID-19 

The new partnership continues LV= General Insurance long-standing association with cricket, which stretches back almost 20 years The deal sees LV= GI become Official Title Partner of Men’s and Women’s Test Cricket in England & Wales, and the Men’s County Championship, until the end of 2023. The deal includes the 2023 Men’s Ashes Series.

#Funds4Runs aunched in November 2020 and focuses on the main areas where access to cricket support or cricket itself has been limited, including  children from deprived backgrounds, diverse communities, disability groups and women and girls’ programmes.

The initiative, and LV= GI’s support, will also help deliver against three wider ECB objectives – delivering the purpose of ‘connecting communities and improving lives’ through cricket, increasing the relevance of cricket locally and growing long-term engagement with the game in these communities.

Financial support from the initiative will be accessible to affiliated clubs, All Stars cricket centres, Community organisations, County Cricket Boards and Cricket Wales. Interested parties can register their interest in #Funds4Runs funding at ecb.co.uk/funds4runs or find out more information at lv.com/gi/cricket.

The partnership also marks a return to professional cricket in England and Wales for LV= GI, which has a longstanding heritage and association with the sport. LV= GI’s involvement dates back almost 20 years to 2002 and includes three separate stints as title partner of the County Championship – most recently from 2007-15 as the LV= County Championship.

Heather Smith, Managing Director at LV= GI, said: “As a business we’ve got a strong heritage in cricket going back almost 20 years and this partnership with the ECB gives us a fantastic opportunity to build on what we’ve done already and deepen relationships across all forms of cricket.

“We understand the importance of supporting local communities and the launch of #Funds4Runs, to help grassroots cricket clubs to get back on their feet during this awful time, was a proud moment and this longer term partnership will give us the opportunity to support cricket at all levels. Domestic Test and County cricket has seen some truly historic moments in recent history, so to be a part of this over the next three years is very exciting. Away from the professional game, we also want to help strengthen cricket communities across the UK, and our values around supporting communities closely align with those of the ECB.” 

ECB Chief Executive, Tom Harrison, said: “LV= has a long and proud history of supporting cricket and their return as a partner will benefit all levels of our game. The strength of our partnerships are vital and in LV= I know we have a partner that shares our ambition to support the growth of cricket from grassroots to our England teams."