ANZ and VCA Celebrate 3 Year Partnership

ANZ Bank and the Vanuatu Cricket Association (VCA) celebrated three years of partnership this week with a shirt signing ceremony and a sponsorship of 1.5 Million Vatu towards the ANZ High Performance Cricket Program.

Presenting the cheque for 1.5 Million Vatu to the VCA members and national team players, ANZ Acting CEO Mr. Warren Bobin said, "ANZ is excited to be associated with the High Performance Program that has helped nurture cricketing skills and develop cricket as a leading sports discipline in Vanuatu. What you are doing as an Association is inspiring and we hope ANZ's support will continue to further your mission to develop cricket in Vanuatu."

Accepting the sponsorship, Mr. Peter Wooden, ANZ High Performance Development Manager / National Coach presented a national cricket jersey signed by the Vanuatu Women's Cricket team to Mr. Bobin in recognition of ANZ's continuous support over the past three years.

Mr. Wooden stated, "the support of sponsors is critical in the development of our youth cricket programs. We are sure the sponsorship provided is allowing us to continue to invest in the community through cricket providing pathways for our youths and giving them goals and aspirations to a successful life in sport. Vanuatu Cricket wishes to thank ANZ for the continuous support of the ANZ High Performance Program."

"It is tremendous to see this sort of support not only from ANZ, but also our other sponsors that support our various programs under the Development Program which ensures that the growth of cricket players continues," said Vanuatu Cricket President, Mark Stafford.

2012 has been a busy year for VCA with different tournaments within the region and globally.

In May Vanuatu hosted the International Cricket Council (ICC) East Asia Pacific (EAP) Women's Cricket Championship, in August the Under 17 national team shall travel to Fiji for the ICC EAP U17 Cricket Championship while the Under 16 national team travel to Noumea, New Caledonia for the Youth Inter Provincial Games. The Senior Men shall travel to Samoa for the ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Division 8.

In 2009, ANZ and the Vanuatu Cricket Association entered into a sponsorship agreement which saw ANZ acquire naming rights for the Vanuatu Cricket High Performance Program. The ANZ High Performance Program aims to identify new talent and enhance the cricketing skills of national squads at all levels right through from the junior teams starting with the under 15's through to the senior team.

The total sponsorship amount for the ANZ High Performance Program over three years is 4.5 Million Vatu.