ICC may earn up to $150 million in World Cup sponsorship fee

The world cricket governing body has 20 sponsors and partners for ICC World Cup 2023. It has six global partners that are paying $8-10 million for these sponsorship slots. The global partners include MRF Tyres, Booking.com, IndusInd Bank, MasterCard, Aramco and Emirates.

IndusInd and MasterCard have come in as global partners following the exit of Byju’s and BharatPe. Both Byju’s and BharatPe gave up ICC sponsorship due to their financial woes.

The deals with eight official partners, which include Bira91, Polycab, Thums-Up, Upstox, Nissan, Nium, Oppo, and DP World, have been signed for $6-8 million, said experts.

Then, there are category partners like Royal Stag, Dream11, Jacob’s Creek, Near Foundation, Fan Craze and Tyka, who will be forking out anywhere between $3 million and $4 million.

Nikhil Bardia, head of sponsorship sales and talent at RISE Worldwide, said this World Cup has set benchmarks that have not been noticed previously.

“The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup offers a massive landscape for brands to connect with their target audience across geographies,” Bardia said.

“A cricket World Cup is always marketed as a festival, and with India touted as one of the front-runners in the tournament, it has catalysed interest. Brands across categories and spending pedigrees have found their relevant opportunities with the plethora of opportunities in-stadia and on-screen. The sheer impact of having it in India has been huge, with brands and sponsors flocking for visibility.”

A query sent to ICC remained unanswered till press time.

Booking.com country manager for India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Indonesia, Santosh Kumar, said the World Cup will allow the brand to communicate its mission and values in a relevant and timely manner.