ICC signs Marriott as global sponsor amid push for long-term partners

The deal, announced on Friday, spans all ICC men’s tournaments, including the T20 World Cup starting next February in India and Sri Lanka, the ODI World Cup next year in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, the 2028 T20 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, and the 2029 Champions Trophy in India.

The partnership underscores two parallel shifts: ICC is locking in longer-term sponsors as media-rights revenues come under pressure, while Marriott is using cricket to reposition Bonvoy as an experience-led platform rather than just a points-based loyalty scheme—targeting the growing but still nascent sports tourism market.

As part of the agreement, Marriott Bonvoy will curate cricket-related content and host local events aimed at deepening engagement among its 260 million members.

“What is really bringing the two brands together is global reach," Sanjog Gupta, CEO of ICC told Mint in an interview. “We have close to 2 billion fans across the world, Marriott has a presence in more than 140 countries. Cricket is now played in over 120 countries around the world, it is now an Olympic sport. Its recognition and visibility around the world is only going to increase."

For Marriott, cricket offers a way to broaden the appeal of Bonvoy beyond transactional rewards.

“It is critically important that we see ourselves far beyond just a transaction-based loyalty program. It really is an experiential-based loyalty program," Rajeev Menon, president, Asia-Pacific (excluding China) for Marriott International told Mint in an interview.

ICC executives said the partnership is expected to help expand cricket’s footprint among newer audiences while enhancing the experience of travelling to watch matches, whether domestically or overseas, in a manner comparable to global sporting spectacles such as Formula 1 races, elite tennis tournaments or the US National Football League.

The Marriott deal also stands out for its duration. ICC’s recently announced partnerships with Budweiser and Hyundai Motor run for two years each. Budweiser is sponsoring cricket for the first time, while Hyundai returned as a premium partner after a previous association between 2011 and 2015.

“Our partnership cycles are ending with the World Cup in 2027 and which is why you see Hyundai and AB InBev going up to that point," Anurag Dahiya, chief commercial officer at ICC, told Mint. “So in some ways, this is a bit of an exception. But just as Marriott Bonvoy, we see this as a very long-term partnership. I am not too fixated on the length, we see Marriott Bonvoy has had very long and successful [sports] partnerships."

Although the Marriott Bonvoy-ICC partnership is focused on driving sports tourism, the segment remains relatively small in India. It was estimated to be worth ₹9,200 crore in FY25, according to consulting firm KPMG, but is projected to grow at a 10% compound annual growth rate to ₹14,800 crore by 2030.

“Cricket continues to be the single-largest driver of sports tourism. Tournaments like the Indian Premier League (IPL) and ICC World Cups attract millions of domestic travellers who travel interstate to watch their favorite teams," KPMG said in a September 2025 report. “Mega-events such as the 2011 Cricket World Cup, the 2016 T20 World Cup, and the 2023 Men’s Cricket World Cup also brought in large contingents of international visitors, contributing significantly to aviation, hospitality, and local economies in host cities like Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai."

Marriott executives said they expect cricket-led travel to drive outbound tourism from India to fast-growing cricket markets overseas.

“The Middle East is by far the closest and most popular destination for Indians traveling internationally," Satya Anand, Marriott International’s president for Europe, Middle East, and Africa, told Mint. “UAE (United Arab Emirates) in particular is home to the subcontinent community. Whenever we host an event like cricket in the UAE, we get so many Indian travellers coming, we are able to provide accommodation to all our customers from luxury to mid-scale. It is a huge market to tap into."

The ICC has announced a string of new and renewed partnerships over the past year, even as the economics of cricket broadcasting face headwinds. In February last year, real estate developer Sobha Realty became a global partner for men’s cricket for an unspecified period. A month later, Unilever signed a two-year deal for its brands Dove and Rexona to sponsor ICC women’s events.

These deals have come against the backdrop of stress in media rights. In December, Economic Times reported that JioStar was seeking to exit its India media-rights contract for ICC events two years early; both ICC and JioStar denied the report.

In November, the Dutch Cricket Board said in a financial disclosure that the ICC had warned member nations to expect revenue declines of up to 30% in 2028, when its media-rights cycle comes up for renewal. ICC’s latest available disclosures show that revenue from events fell 13.1% in calendar year 2024 to $728.4 million.

Even so, the ICC has opted for fewer but higher-profile sponsors.

“ICC’s new sponsorship cycle that began in 2024 had a leaner look with fewer number of brand partners," media agency WPP Media (formerly groupM) said in a report on the business of sports in May last year.

“This strategy, driven by the 'Less is More' approach, aims to limit sponsor slots, allowing each brand a larger Share of Voice (SOV) within the roster. The goal is to declutter the brand messaging across consumer touchpoints related to the event, ensuring that each sponsor's communication resonates more powerfully. ICC’s new system has 10 sponsor positions - 4 Premier and 6 Global Partners for both men’s and women’s events, representing a significant reduction from 2023, the last year of the previous cycle," it added.

“Absolutely, that strategy has worked," ICC’s Dahiya said. “We are very proud of our partner slate. We worked to declutter and make sure the brand is visible in a meaningful way. We are sold out on our tier-1 (sponsorship spots) and we have very few opportunities in our tier-2 and tier 3 (spots). That is proof that the strategy has worked very well."