The Cricket Australia (CA) governing body has extended and expanded its commercial agreement with Australian airline Qantas, a long-term partner.
Through a three-year deal announced today, Qantas carries on as CA's official airline partner, and, in addition, will become the overseas tour partner for the national men's and women's teams.
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The deal means that, for the first time, the Qantas branding will feature on the women's teams’s shirts and training apparel for overseas games for the three-year cycle from July 1, 2025.
The overall tie-up between CA and Qantas began in 2011 through an initial four-year deal, and this extension means the country's national cricket teams will continue to fly with Qantas until at least 2028.
Qantas’ CA sponsorship for the 2023-24 cricket season was estimated by GlobalData Sport as worth $3.1 million annually.
Ed Sanders, chief commercial officer at CA, has said: “I’m delighted our partnership with Qantas will continue for another three years and that both our men’s and women’s teams will showcase the airline’s iconic logo during international matches played overseas.”
Later this year, the Australian men’s team will play in the ICC World Test Championship Final in England, following that with an eight-match tour of the West Indies.
In terms of CA’s commercial activity, earlier this month a deal with the Two Circles agency was unveiled.
The two organizations first worked together in 2017, and since then Two Circles has been involved in helping CA seal several commercial deals.
Current top-tier CA commercial partners – in addition to Qantas – include CommBank (although that long-term deal will end this June), Woolworths, Weber, KFC, Toyota, and Bet365, while NRMA Insurance is the naming rights partner for home test series'.
Reports over the last few months have suggested that Australian banking giant Westpac is due to replace CommBank.
Catriona Larritt, Qantas’ chief customer and digital officer, added: “Whether it's connecting fans with the game they love or supporting the national teams as they compete on the global stage during their upcoming international tours, it is an honour to support this much-loved national sport. We look forward to continuing the long innings of our relationship with Cricket Australia.”
Aside from Cricket Australia, Qantas is also a partner of the Football Australia national governing body, with the current deal between the two running through the end of this year. Indeed, Qantas has been a partner of the Socceroos, the men's national soccer side, since 2004.
