World Squash Day success leads to new partnership
By DONNA HELMER – Squash Mad Correspondent
England Squash has announced a new partnership with Karakal which will see one of the UK’s leading squash brands become title sponsor of the Premier Squash League (PSL), the world’s longest established and most successful national club competition.
The latest announcement follows a hugely successful partnership between Karakal and England Squash in relation to this year’s World Squash Day, which saw more than 150 squash venues open their doors to nearly 5,000 people throughout England.
Significant changes to the format of this year’s PSL have been introduced to provide more opportunities for leading British players as well as increased opportunities for female players.
Steve Gallienne, Global Sales and Marketing Manager at Karakal said: “Karakal are thrilled to be the title sponsor of the Premier Squash League. The PSL continues to grow from strength to strength and we are delighted to partner with England Squash on this exciting initiative to further grow its exposure, influence and reach.”
Keir Worth, England Squash CEO said: “We are thrilled to have Karakal as our PSL title sponsor and extremely grateful for their support. This will allow us to invest in the promotion of the league and development of our englandsquash.tv steaming platform, which will help raise the profile of the sport as well as showcase the finest players from around the world.”
Tesni Evans, a two-time British National champion and Karakal sponsored player added: “I have always enjoyed playing PSL, which has been a key part of my development by providing competitive opportunities against the world’s best players.
“I have really enjoyed being part of the Welsh Wizards team following our entry into the PSL last year and have loved playing in Wales in front of great crowds. Karakal have supported me throughout my career and it’s great to see them increasing their investment in the sport to help drive squash forward in the UK.”
The top two teams from this season’s respective 2019-20 north and south divisions will automatically qualify for the top division of a revised 2020-21 National League structure with further divisions to be introduced in subsequent seasons to increase accessibility and competitive opportunities.
The 2019-20 Karakal PSL final will be staged in May and will be streamed live via SquashTV and englandsquash.tv platforms to maximise reach for squash enthusiasts around the world.
Report by DONNA HELMER (England Squash). Edited by ALAN THATCHER.