Multi Finance renews Ragama CC sponsorship for 2013/2014
Monday, 2 December 2013 00:00
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By David Ebert
Multi Finance PLC, a subsidiary company of the Entrust Group, renewed its financial commitment with 2012 Premier League limited overs champions Ragama CC for the forthcoming 2013/2014 domestic cricket league championship, at an event held at The Kingsbury Colombo on Thursday (28). The sponsorship will cover the team’s performance throughout the competition and will extend to the facilities and overall upkeep of the club itself.
Speaking at the event Ragama CC President Roshan Abeysinghe paid tribute to the club’s sponsors saying: “The Secretary of Sri Lanka Cricket Nishantha Ranatunga about three or four years ago mooted the idea of putting clubs and sponsors together and at that point we had the great fortune of linking up with the parent company of Multi Finance, which was Entrust and that is where the association started. Then there was a slight break and the Head of Marketing at the time, Vajira Dassanayake, was kind enough to once again make sure that the partnership was reinvented and Multi Finance and Ragama CC did join up last year.
“I’m very pleased to say that this partnership has not been limited to cricket. It has been a partnership that has built bridges; it has been a partnership that has gone beyond cricket and today we are very pleased to say that Multi Finance last year came in as a sponsor and this year they’ve come in as our one and only sponsor.
“They have been very kind to come in and take over the entire club and that includes the gym and the academy in addition to the team. Particularly in a very competitive environment where today cricket depends a lot on how much money we could generate, Multi Finance have been very generous with an excellent sponsorship and I must tell you that if we don’t have sponsors like this, no sport can go forward. So we, as people who are involved in clubs and involved in looking to take this great game forward, are extremely thankful that we have sponsors of this calibre.”
Also speaking at the event, Entrust Group Executive Director/Group Chief Operating Officer Romesha Senerath said: “Indeed as a finance company in Sri Lanka we are very proud to renew our sponsorship with Ragama CC. It is mainly due to the fact that in the beginning of this year we were very delighted to see Ragama CC becoming the 2012/2013 limited overs league champions.
“When we committed to the sponsorship last year, our hope was that we would like to see the club winning the championship and they indeed did that for Multi Finance, and in keeping with a promise we made to the team that year that we will be renewing our support and today we are here to make it formal.”
“With a history of 39 years I think now with the sponsorship that we are renewing with the Ragama CC team, and also like Roshan mentioned, this year we have given them the comfort, the promise and the undertaking that we will be looking after not only the team the club’s requirements as well. So moving forward, I hope on behalf of Multi Finance, that Ragama CC would make every endeavour to use this opportunity given to uplift the sporting competence of its players and the younger generation of cricketers. We hope this sponsorship will help them in the future.”
Since its inception in 1989, Ragama CC has been one of the leading clubs in the domestic cricketing arena, having contributed significantly to the development of the game. Understanding the efforts of Ragama CC, Multi Finance PLC has envisioned the importance of assisting them in their endeavour to motivate young players to excel in the domestic league and thereby vie for a place in the national team.
The sponsorship cheque was handed over to the Ragama CC team captain Sameera Soysa by Entrust Group Executive Director/Group Chief Operating Officer Romesha Senerath and Multi Finance CEO Pushpika Jayasundera, with Ragama CC President Roshan Abeysinghe and Sri Lanka Cricket officials also present.