Ahead of the first limited overs game, Momentum launched the 2014/2015 season with fanfare at their head office in Centurion. Momentum has become entrenched as the official sponsor of the one-day format and innovations to enhance fan engagement, as seen in the last few years, will continue in the Momentum One-Day Cup Championship. Apart from being involved in Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) premier domestic one-day competition, Momentum also continues to align many of its social investment and social responsibility initiatives around educational opportunities for cricket scholars and students, as well as ongoing grassroots development initiatives that contribute to meaningful transformation of the game in communities and schools around South Africa. This is the season which will be highlighted by the 2015 edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in February and March. With this in mind the Franchise players will have to be at their best from the very start of the Momentum One Day Cup if they wish to come into contention for the Proteas World Cup squad.There will thus be a very high sense of anticipation when the first match – a day/night encounter – takes place on Friday, October 10, at SuperSport Park between The Unlimited Titans and the Sunfoil Dolphins.All Franchises should be well prepared with the Dolphins and Nashua Cape Cobras coming off intense competition in the Champions League T20 in India and the other four Franchises having been involved in two rounds of the four-day Sunfoil Series competition.
“Our relationship with Momentum is very special and continues to go from strength to strength,” commented Cricket South Africa (CSA) Chief Executive, Haroon Lorgat. “We share a common culture and a desire to be far more than a cricket organisation on the one hand and a sponsor on the other. Both organisations want to make a real contribution to South African society. We want to promote family values and do everything possible to support the under-privileged.
“The Momentum eKasi Challenge, the family area at Momentum One-Day Cup and ODI matches and Momentum’s support of women’s cricket are just a few examples of a committed and dream partner.
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“The Cricket World Cup is clearly going to be the highlight of the summer and both the Momentum One-Day Cup and the Momentum One-Day Internationals against the West Indies will be key to ensuring the readiness of our Proteas squad.
“I wish all our players, fans and commercial partners a successful and enjoyable Momentum One-Day Cup competition and I thank Momentum for their amazing support of South African cricket,” concluded Mr. Lorgat.
The Momentum Family Area set up at all One-Day Cup matches, has continued to be popular and a way for families and supporters to enjoy the experience of live cricket, especially when extra activities like face-painting or free bats and balls or fan engagement like meeting players, are laid on. The family area will remain a regular feature on the grass embankments at One-Day matches, both international and domestic.
Commenting on Momentum’s commitment to cricket, Danie van den Bergh, Head of Momentum Brand said: “Now in our third year as part of the CSA cricket family, we feel we are making headway in translating the passion, sportsmanship and national or team pride we see in the game, to so many more people. As a customer-centric business and a family focussed brand we want everyone who comes into contact with us to have a superior interaction and this includes your experience at cricket and all sponsorship events”.
“Our partnership with CSA has given us the opportunity to contribute to the exciting one-day format and to more families and friends enjoying the game, as well as nation building, sports development, investing in quality education for talented youngsters and development of the game in schools, clubs and communities. Our legacy is to contribute towards growing a stronger cricket community for future generations”.
Another area of positive contribution is Momentum’s support of the national women’s team who have risen in world rankings from 6th to 3rd since the announcement of the sponsorship. Further progress has been made with a fully professionalised team for the first time with the full squad of 14 players now contracted to CSA, as well as full-time support in place with Head Coach Hilton Moreeng.
The challenge remains to encourage more fans to enjoy matches in the stadium. Matches will be held around the country, allowing nationwide Franchise support.
