The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) together with Table Tennis Canada (TTC) have agreed a title sponsorship with Uncle Pop for the 2017 Women’s World Cup. The prestigious event which will be held on 27-29 October in Markham Canada will now be known as the Uncle Pop 2017 ITTF Women’s World Cup.
Mr YANG Xiaoyong Chairman of Uncle Pop which is a Chinese leisure food company based in Sichuan stated during the signing ceremony: “Table tennis embodies health and happiness for the global audience and this is very much in line with Uncle Pop’s vision of making healthy high-quality snacks for consumers all over the world & become the leading Chinese manufacturer of leisure food. It is this common ideology that brought about this partnership and we hope to continue to have a long-term partnership in future.”
Lavish signing ceremonies were held in Chengdu China and in Toronto Canada. The event in Chengdu China included defending Champion Miu HIRANO from Japan where Mr YANG Xiaoyong and the then ITTF Marketing & Commercial Director and now Acting CEO Mr Steve DAINTON formalised the deal for one of the most prestigious ITTF events of the year.
Steve DAINTON added: “Thank you to Table Tennis Canada for introducing Uncle Pop to ITTF events. We feel that Uncle Pop is a great fit as a partner for the ITTF Women’s World Cup and for future ITTF events. The ITTF is looking forward to working with both Uncle Pop and Table Tennis Canada to make this event one to remember.”
“We had a number of interests for the title sponsorship but we chose Uncle Pop as the company’s plans to expand into North America while strengthening its base in Asia aligns with our plans for hosting high level international events in Canada ” states Table Tennis Canada CEO Tony KIESENHOFER. “We can provide programming that is of interest to viewers in North America and in Asia and this results in large TV audiences and great brand exposure for our sponsors.”
According to a media report commissioned by the ITTF over 45 million TV viewers watched last year’s event in Philadelphia USA.
The Uncle Pop 2017 ITTF Women’s World Cup will feature 20 of the world’s best players. 17 of the players competing have to qualify through their respective Continental Cups plus the current World Champion a host player and a wildcard which means only the best of the best can compete.