Deloitte has confirmed its support for women and girls’ rugby by extending its deal as the lead sponsor of the Ulster Women’s team, the Ulster U18 Girls team, and Ulster Rugby’s women’s domestic competitions for another two years.

Both the Ulster Women and U18 Girls squads are in the final stages of preparations for the eagerly anticipated 2021 interprovincial series, following a year’s absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ulster Women will kick off their campaign on Saturday 28 August, hosting Munster at the Kingspan Stadium. They will then face away trips to Leinster and Connacht in Rounds 2 and 3.  Ulster U18 Girls will face the same opposition on the same weekends, with full details still to be confirmed.

At domestic level, 2021/22 will see the largest-ever number of teams competing in provincial league and cup competitions, while the showpiece Deloitte Women’s Junior Cup Final is once again set to be played at the home of Ulster Rugby, Kingspan Stadium.

Commenting on the announcement of the renewal, Jonny Petrie, Ulster Rugby CEO, said:

“Since Deloitte came on-board as a partner of Ulster Rugby in 2017, the Women and Girls’ game has developed into the fastest growing area in our sport across the province. We are delighted that, with news of their sponsorship extension, Deloitte has chosen to continue this journey with us as an invested and passionate partner.

“Ulster Rugby and Deloitte both have a strong commitment to diversity, opportunity and excellence, so I am confident that we are aligned in our mission to further grow the Women and Girls’ game at both elite and grassroots level over the next two years.”

Jackie Henry, Office Senior Partner at Deloitte in Northern Ireland and Managing Partner for People and Purpose at Deloitte UK said “The sponsorship is a perfect fit with Deloitte’s commitment to support sport at all levels and aligns to the core value of diversity and inclusion. We are really proud and excited to be renewing our sponsorship of these Ulster Rugby teams.”

Chris Sloan, Partner at Deloitte who is leading on the sponsorship said, “It is hugely encouraging to see Ulster Rugby prioritising the growth of the women’s and girls’ game and putting in place both plans to increase female participation in rugby, and pathways and other mechanisms to boost team performance. We want to play our part in supporting the development of the sport in Northern Ireland and helping boost the team’s performance.

“Maintaining the naming rights for all domestic competitions means we’ll be able to keep supporting the game at a grass roots level and hopefully introduce rugby to more young people, who may well be looking to give new sports a try as pandemic restrictions ease.

“There is a real buzz around female sport at the moment and this sponsorship renewal reinforces our support for diversity for all genders and for all sporting levels.”

Source & Image: www.ulsterrugby.com