… cites in-house ramblings as one reason
AFTER eight years of sponsorship Neal and Massy (NM), a subsidiary of AINLIM Group of Companies, has said no to the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) with regard to sponsoring its 2010 nationwide first division tournament which is being used as a yardstick to select the national team to contest the Regional limited overs tournament.
According to marketing manager of the GCB Ramsay Ali, the governing body’s request to the long-term sponsor for this year’s tournament was turned down, which left the GCB in a precarious position, since a sponsor has to be located for this year’s tournament.
“All is not lost with regard to our relationship with N&M. As the head of the marketing department of the GCB, I sent the proposal for this year’s tournament and was met with a ‘no’ by the company,” stated Ali.
“However, I was told to make contact with them next year, at which time they may be in a position to renew their ties with us. In the meantime, it is my duty to locate another sponsor for this tournament which is being used to select our national team for the Regional limited overs tournament and that needs to be done as quickly as possible.”
In an invited comment with Chronicle Sport, Director of Ainlim, Trevor Yan, said his company was focusing on sponsoring other sport disciplines and at the same time, calling on the GCB to get its act together.
“We have been sponsoring the GCB tournament for a number of years and we thought it best to throw our support and advertising dollars on other sports, as was evident with the sponsorship of the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) recently held 10k run.
Added to that, the internal ramblings that have been taking place within the GCB lately have raised eyebrows within corporate Guyana and certainly businesses would not find it comfortable to sponsor an association which has in-house division,” stated Yan.
When asked if the GCB has been giving N&M adequate mileage, Yan was not hesitant in answering in the positive.
“This is not about mileage, for we do get adequate mileage from the GCB. Had we not received same, do you think we would have been behind them for all those years?” asked Yan.
“It’s not about mileage but the direction of our advertising dollars in other sporting associations, as well as their in-house ramblings among other things.
“And yes, to what Mr Ramsay stated, we will review their application in the New Year, along with that of other sporting associations.”