EY sponsors The British & Irish Lions 2017 tour of New Zealand
The British & Irish Lions have a new sponsor for their 2017 tour of New Zealand: EY. The professional services firm will, through its digital and analytics capabilities, work with The Lions and other sponsors to create a more impactful game experience for sport fans during next year’s tour.
UK Rugby Union has a long and competitive history with three of its major rivals: New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. The origins of the rivalry call back to 1888 when the combined selected players from rugby sides from the UK and Ireland would travel to far flung commonwealth Southern Hemisphere destinations, as part of what has become the four yearly The British & Irish Lions tour.
Next year’s tour is to New Zealand, in which the best of the best of Rugby Union players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales will battle it out against New Zealand's rugby stars – the country is the current holder of the 2015 Rugby World Cup and recently defeated rivals Australia in the Bledisloe Cup.
As part of EY’s wider sponsorship programme, the firm has decided to support The British & Irish Lions 2017 tour of New Zealand. The firm will leverage its digital and analytics capabilities to bring the game to life for the sports’ fans. The firm will be working with The Loins, and its other sponsors, to “increase enthusiasm and engagement and to promote the values that The Lions represent.” The game represents a host of qualities that transcend into the business world, says EY, including expertise, dedication, discipline, and that working together creates a more significant result than what can be achieved individually.
Norman Lonergan, EY Global Vice Chair of Advisory, says that the firm is “extremely excited” about working together with The Lions to support sports fans and commercial partners with their engagement to the Tour to New Zealand. He adds, “As a business, we identify very closely with the values of rugby and it’s fantastic to be able to build on our successful support of the Rugby World Cup 2015 with such an iconic and unique challenge in the modern sporting era. The Lions in New Zealand is something special and will be a tremendous test of what a high-performing team can achieve in a high-pressure environment. The Lions embodies what EY brings to its clients – a range of diverse experience and character that, together with the right strategy and analysis, can build a better working world through the highest-performing teams.”
Charlie McEwen, British & Irish Lions Chief Operating Officer, says that the team is “delighted” to welcome EY to The Lions family. “There is a very strong synergy between our two organisations that both thrive to be best of best in our respective industries. We are looking forward to an exciting and productive partnership which can only enhance The Lions experience for all involved,” he adds.
Earlier this year Big Four rival PwC announced that it has extended its support of the Irish Rugby Football Union for a further four years, building on a partnership that goes back to 2006.
