The Momentum cricket season was launched today with the announcement that the financial services company has extended its sponsorship with Cricket South Africa (CSA) for the next five years, up until 2022. All existing rights are extended. The sponsorship continues with Momentum being the title sponsor of all One-Day cricket in South Africa, as well as the naming sponsor of the Momentum Proteas national women’s team.
Although already taken place, the new agreement also incorporates school-level developmental initiatives, the Momentum Friendship Games and the Momentum Schools Weeks.
“It is absolutely wonderful for South African cricket that Momentum have extended their sponsorship for a further five years,” commented CSA Chief Executive, Haroon Lorgat.
“Momentum is a very special partner who contributes at every level &8211; from grass roots to their higher profile contributions at franchise and international level.
“Momentum have demonstrated a perfect fit for CSA and we had no hesitation to extend our partnership. They live their values and passionately support our vision to make cricket accessible to all and to make South Africa a nation of winners.
&8220;I cannot let this moment pass without acknowledging the real difference they made to professionalise our national women’s team. They are the most fitting headline sponsor for women&8217;s cricket.
“The performances of the Momentum Proteas team at the recent ICC Women’s World Cup has been an undoubted sporting highlight of the year,” concluded Mr. Lorgat.
Commenting on the renewal Danie van den Berg, head Marketing at Momentum said, “In CSA, Momentum could not have chosen a better partner. Cricket has been good for Momentum – supporting and enhancing our brand by being associated with excellence, while also giving us a chance to contribute to great nation-building via the unifying element of sport. We support what CSA is doing to grow the development of the game and to nurture grassroots pipelines to find the talent of tomorrow. We have a shared passion for supporting the upliftment and development of the game. We can only express our gratitude to CSA for partnering with us and we look forward to the next fruitful five years”.
The sponsorship is strongly rooted in supporting CSA’s developmental structures and talent pipelines with the Momentum’s Schools Weeks for U13, U15 and U17 and the Momentum Friendship Games, localised around developmental hubs in rural areas or where cricket is not available at local schools. These tournament formats give youngsters every opportunity to show their talent and at the same time learn valuable life-skills through sportsmanship:
The occasion was also used to launch the Momentum One-Day Cup (MODC) season, with the captains of the six regional domestic franchises in attendance. This year the MODC has a relatively late start in December and continues throughout January, concluding in early February.
Also new this year is a joint venture between Momentum and the Jacques Kallis Foundation to form the Momentum Kallis Bursary Programme (MKBP). This is a continuation of the Momentum 2 Excellence (M2E) Bursary Programme, which already has 16 children enrolled in quality high schools around the country. The MKBP has taken the best of both programmes, and will now allow for more children to access bursaries via the new programme. Entry criteria remains high and is still based on several factors, including cricket talent, academic application, financial need and the character of the candidate.
As with M2E, the MKBP will partner with CSA to help find the talented applicants, and The Make a Difference (MAD) Leadership Foundation who administers the programme and manages the crucial mentorship and support component that significantly contributes to the success of the programme. Kallis is known to take a hands-on approach so the children will have a chance to learn and be inspired by him.
Adding to the excitement of the launch event was the imminent 5th edition of the Momentum eKasi Challenge; a fierce pre-season rival match that not only takes world-class professional cricket to the townships, but every year pits the Multiply Titans and the bizhub Highveld Lions against each other. This year the hosts, the Multiply Titans, are taking the match to Hammanskraal, North of Pretoria. It’s more than being about runs and results but rather where the match is being played &8211; taking competitive cricket to the township to inspire new generations and new audiences.
Momentum, CSA and the Titans and the Lions have already made a connection with this community by repainting, cleaning and donating cricket kit to Leboneng Primary School in Hammanskraal. This will be one of the 10 schools that will be bussed to the Momentum eKasi Challenge match on Wednesday 13 September 2017.
To add another contribution to the community, directly after the launch on Tuesday players and coaches from both teams headed to Temba Cricket Oval, close to Hammanskraal, for a coaching session for local schools.
All in all the 2017 / 2018 One-Day season is going to jam packed with exciting matches. The stadia throughout the country are ready to welcome families and friends – everyone is invited.