British & Irish Lions Start Planning 2009 Tour to South Africa

The British & Irish Lions today announced the appointment of Accelerate as their exclusive commercial broker and sponsorship managers for the 2009 tour to South Africa.  Following a comprehensive pitch process involving the world’s leading sponsorship agencies the British & Irish Lions appointed Accelerate to represent their commercial interests for 2009.

John Feehan, British Lions Ltd. Chief Executive commented on the appointment:

“The Lions tour to South Africa will be the biggest sporting event in 2009 and we are delighted to be able to announce the appointment of Accelerate as our commercial partners.  The Lions committee recognise that a critical part of ensuring success on the field is to develop a team off the field that has experience and empathy with the squads needs. Accelerate’s senior staff’s experience of working with the Lions in 2001 and 2005, coupled with their proven track record and deep understanding of the rugby environment in South Africa, stand them out as the outstanding candidate.  I look forward to working with the Accelerate team to progress the 2009 commercial plans”

Charlie McEwen, Head of Sponsorship and Consultancy at Accelerate said:

“We are thrilled to be working for the world’s greatest rugby team. The strength of the Lions brand and its ability to transcend sporting cultures has been underlined by the interest already shown in partnerships opportunities for the 2009 tour. 

Our senior staff’s experience of running the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa, together with our proven track record, demonstrates that we are ideally placed to ensure the tour is a resounding commercial success.”