New Delhi: European Cricket Network (ECN) has announced FanCode, India’s premier digital sports destination for all fans, as the exclusive broadcast partner in India for the newly launched international T10 league, ‘Dream11 European Cricket Championship (ECC21)’. Boasting all the hallmarks of a ‘Mini World Cup in Europe’ and sanctioned by the ICC, Cricket Espana will host the first edition of ECC21 at the picturesque Cartama Oval, Spain. The month-long championship begins on September 13, 2021.
The comprehensive partnership between ECN and Dream Sports, the parent company of Dream11 and FanCode, will bring the holistic experience of ECC21 to Indian sports fans and Dream Sports’ 125 million users. FanCode will be the Official Broadcast Partner in India and Dream11 the Title Sponsor and Official Fantasy Sports Partner.
ECC21 will witness 15 national teams, including representatives from England, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the hosts Spain, competing in the inaugural edition with close to 100 matches between September 13 and October 8. The new and fresh venture sees 15 teams in three groups of five, with each group meeting over a separate week of T10 action. Each group will feature 24 T10 games – a double round-robin and a playoff. The leading two countries in each group will advance to a Finals Week scheduled from October 4-8 in Spain.
Talking about the European Cricket Championship, the brainchild of Daniel Weston, ECN Founder, said, “European cricket is incredibly multi-cultural, with cricket-loving natives and immigrants new to Europe combining to develop the game. Thanks to the many diverse backgrounds of the cricketing talent on display, this new Championship will have the feel of a mini-World Cup, where talented international cricketers come together to represent their countries in this novel and exciting T10 format.”
Roger Feiner, CEO ECL AG, said, “Since we started working with Dream Sports for the European Cricket League in 2019 and later the European Cricket Series, it has been state-of-the-art cooperation. This new national team tournament promises to be a mini-World Cup where we propel our partnership to an even higher level. We are very proud to work with such a professional company in the world of sports.”
Vikrant Mudaliar, Chief Marketing Officer of Dream Sports, said, “We are pleased to partner with ECN for the newly launched ‘Dream11 European Cricket Championship’. The shorter formats of cricket are a huge hit among younger sports fans, and we are sure it will be well received in India and generate interest among 125M users across Dream11 and FanCode.”
Prasana Krishnan, Co-Founder of FanCode, said, “We are excited to bring the first European international T10 championship to Indian cricket fans. With 15 national teams, this is indeed the mini–World Cup in Europe and a great opportunity to take European cricket’s popularity to the next level. FanCode will provide a personalized sports experience for ECC21, with many user-first features like interactive data overlays, fastest ad-free live scores, in-depth sports statistics and analytics, and much more.”
The participating teams in the inaugural season are England Amateur XI, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Norway, Romania, Sweden, Belgium, Hungary, Czech Republic, Portugal, Finland, Luxembourg and Netherlands XI.
