Jersey Reds have announced that Santander will be the club's new lead sponsor for the forthcoming season.
A new three-year agreement was announced today at a pre-season function at Jersey Reds' home ground at St Peter, where Santander representatives and guests were able to witness the final selection training game between members of the Reds' 1st XV squad.
"It's great for the club to have finalised our new partnership with Santander as we prepare for the new season," said Mark Morgan, Chairman of Jersey Reds. "This will be our fifth season in the Greene King IPA Championship, but our first as Jersey Reds and it's exciting to have an enthusiastic local sponsor joining us for the next phase of the club's evolution."
James Pountney, Santander's Managing Director for Channel Islands and Isle of Man, said: “We’re delighted to be Jersey Reds' lead sponsor for the forthcoming season. We wish the club every success and are looking forward to watching the team in action during the pre-season matches in August and once the league campaign kicks off the following month.”
Santander in Jersey offers personal banking and corporate banking to local residents from its offices in Commercial Street, St Helier.
As part of the launch event, Santander staff, their families and guests were raising funds for the company's nominated good cause, the Kitchen Garden Project run by local charity Caring Cooks of Jersey. The Kitchen Garden Project aims to provide children with the tools they need to grow food from seed and prepare nutritious meals from scratch, equipping them with some of life’s most valuable skills.
Fundraising activities during the afternoon event at St Peter included a raffle, shirt auction and - once the professional players had cleared the arena - an opportunity to have a kick at the posts.
The training match formed an important part of preparations led by Head Coach Harvey Biljon for the new season, prior to a trio of pre-season games in August, when Coventry (August 6th), Ampthill (August 13th) and Aviva Premiership side Worcester Warriors (August 20th) will visit St Peter. The Championship season starts on the first weekend of September, when the Reds travel to London to take on Richmond; the first home league game of the season, when Bedford Blues will be the visitors, takes place on Saturday September 10th.
Tickets for the pre-season matches, as well as membership and season ticket packages for supporters for the 2016/17 season, plus a full list of confirmed fixtures to date, are available on the Jersey Reds website.
