Vitality and England & Great Britain (GB) Women’s Hockey have announced one of the most significant partnerships in the sport’s history, as part of a landmark three year deal.

The new partnership sees the health, life and investment company, become Principal Partner of England & GB Women’s Hockey teams (with Vitality’s logo on their shirt), Presenting Partner of FIH Hockey Pro League in Great Britain – which includes both men’s and women’s matches – and Title Partner of the English Women’s Hockey League, now named the Vitality Women’s Hockey League.

England Hockey’s grassroots participation programme will also be renamed Vitality Back to Hockey, with Vitality working closely with England & GB Hockey to drive visibility of the game and encourage many more people to try out or return to the sport.

The partnership will provide support to the game and further raise its profile as part of Vitality’s ongoing commitment to women’s sport and addressing the significant difference that exists in physical activity levels between men and women*. Through the multiple aspects of the partnership, Vitality, together with England & GB Hockey, will further bring its core purpose to life – to make people healthier and to enhance and protect their lives.

This announcement comes at the start of an exciting year for the sport, with the Tokyo Olympics, FIH Hockey Pro League and EuroHockey Championships.

The announcement also comes at the same time as the insurer announces former Olympic gold medal winning hockey player Alex Danson-Bennett MBE will be joining the Vitality team as a Performance Champion, where she will use her passion and extensive experiences in sport and health to help businesses to motivate and inspire their colleagues to look after and prioritise their health and wellbeing.

Nick Read, Managing Director for Vitality, said: “As we head into 2021, a year full of unmissable sporting events, we are delighted to announce our new partnership with England & GB Women’s Hockey.

“As one of the only sports played equally by men and women, hockey holds a unique position meaning it is well placed to drive engagement in physical activity with women in particular, supporting them to try out or return to the game. There has never been a more important time to be involved in women’s sport at all levels, inspiring many more people to become more active and live healthier lifestyles – which is all in-line with our core purpose, to make people healthier and to enhance and protect their lives.”

Nick Pink, Chief Executive of England Hockey and Chief Operating Officer of Great Britain Hockey, said: “We are delighted and very excited to welcome Vitality as a Principal Partner of England & GB Hockey. Vitality’s commitment to women’s sport, their company values, stature as an organisation and recognition to our wider diversity and inclusion work are exciting and complimenting priorities. The profile of hockey has grown significantly in the last ten years, and to be able to announce this new partnership at such a challenging time speaks volumes for the progress hockey in this country has made both domestically and internationally. We look forward to working with Vitality over the next three years, and developing many opportunities for the sport.”

Speaking about Vitality’s partnership with England & GB Women’s Hockey, Alex Danson-Bennett said: “This announcement is fantastic news for the game of hockey and for women’s sport. I am delighted to be joining an organisation that seeks to raise the profile of women’s sport, and I’m sure this partnership will see many more people get involved in the game, become more active and live healthier lifestyles.”

The Vitality Performance Champions programme

The Vitality Champions programme forms part of Vitality’s Workplace offering, which aims to support and empower organisations to encourage positive behaviour change within businesses. The Performance Champions work alongside Vitality Champions – who are health and wellness advocates within their own workplace – focusing on Nutrition, Physical Activity, Mental Wellbeing and Understanding your Health.

As part of the Vitality Performance Champions team**, Alex will utilise her understanding of high performing individuals and teams to go into businesses and support people with Vitality Health insurance*** to encourage colleagues to lead healthier lifestyles.

Vitality has been the Official Wellness Partner of England Hockey since 2017, as well as the Title Partner of the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup 2018.

Courtesy of GB Hockey

*Sport England Gender Play Gap. Long standing gender play gap reported in Sport England, ‘Active Lives Adult Survey November 2018/19 Report’ (Published April 2020). GB TGI Clickstream – 2020 02 (January 2019 – December 2019) a stark reminder of sports and activities recorded in the TGI survey with a difference in male – female participation.

** Alex joins Vitality’s impressive team of Performance Champions, who are former Olympic and World Class athletes from across a number of different sporting disciplines: Maggie Alphonsi MBE, England rugby star and Rugby World Cup winner; James Hudson, Premiership rugby player; Alex Gregory MBE, Great Britain rower; Crista Cullen MBE, Great Britain hockey player; Lizzie Simmonds, Great Britain swimmer; James Rodwell, England Rugby 7s player; Samantha Murray, Great Britain pentathlete; and Emma Wiggs MBE, Great Britain paracanoeist.

***Available to qualifying VitalityHealth member organisations

The Vitality Roses; England’s elite netball team, got their three-match Cadbury Netball Series campaign against New Zealand underway with a 58-45 loss in Hamilton on Wednesday 28 October.

The first clash of the series against the world champions represented England’s first international test since the Vitality Netball Nations Cup in January 2020.

Shannon Saunders got the game underway with the first centre pass and the hosts made the starting advantage count as Ameliaranne Akenasio scored the first goal of the game.

The visitors showed no nerves early on, however, and quickly responded with their first goal of the series courtesy of Eleanor Cardwell.

With the resumption of the ANZ Premiership and having already played a number of matches as part of their home Cadbury Netball Series, the Silver Ferns looked sharper in the opening 15 minutes.

Consequently, the Ferns opened up an eight-goal advantage in front of the home crowd after the 10 minute mark.

Undeterred, the Vitality Roses started to come into the game more and set to work on reducing the early deficit. After great pressure, a composed finish from Kadeen Corbin proved to be the last goal of the first quarter, leaving the score at 15-10.

Head Coach Jess Thirlby watched on at home due to a positive COVID-19 test, but was still able to influence the game alongside Acting Head Coach Kat Ratnapala. They brought on Imogen Allison for her senior England debut and rising star Sophie Drakeford-Lewis.

Despite Eleanor Cardwell’s best efforts with 90% shot accuracy and a promising combination with Drakeford-Lewis, the New Zealand side began to increase their advantage in the second quarter.

The Vitality Roses were showing promising signs as the first-half came to a close as they began to make more interceptions, with Fran Williams making three before the interval.

New Zealand, however, were applying defensive pressure of their own and made it difficult for their opposition to get back into the game. At the end of the first-half, the score line read 32-24.

At the break, Gabby Marshall and George Fisher were brought on to make a difference from the substitute’s bench.

Fran Williams continued to impress in the third quarter and England began to put a run together. With five minutes to go, Thirlby’s side netted three goals in a row.

The away side made a good push at their hosts in the attacking circle with all four shooters putting in performances when given the chance. At the end of the third quarter, they were shooting at 88%.

The Silver Ferns showed exactly why they are world champions, though, and still managed to pull away before the whistle signalled the end of quarter three. 46-35.

England’s attacking end continued to prove creative during the final 15 minutes of the match and gained plaudits for the way they worked an experienced New Zealand defence.

Penalties proved costly, however, as the visitors conceded 46 penalties to the hosts’ 28 as the game came to a close. Despite promising signs in their first competitive fixture since January, the Vitality Roses fell short with the final score sitting at 57-43.

The Vitality Roses will have a chance at redemption later this week as the Cadbury Netball Series continues. You can watch the remaining two fixtures live via Sky Sports on Friday 30 October and Sunday 1 November, both starting at 6am GMT.

The new partnership, which will run for three years through to July 2023, will see the world’s best cup competition rebranded and referred to as the Vitality Women’s FA Cup. The relationship officially kicks-off from the start of the quarter-finals of the 2019/2020 competition, which take place on 26-27 September.

A peak audience of 2.2m watched Manchester City defeat West Ham United in the 2019 final of the competition, with over 43,000 in attendance at Wembley Stadium.

The announcement reflects Vitality’s continued commitment to women’s sport and to address the significant difference that exists in physical activity levels between men and women*. Working with The FA, Vitality will drive visibility of women’s football and inspire many more girls and women to take up football or other sports and to keep and stay active, in line with its core purpose, to make people healthier and to enhance and protect their lives.

The Women’s FA Cup is the largest cup competition for female footballers in England, with 376 teams entering this season. The 2020/2021 final is due to be played at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 22 May 2021.

Kelly Simmons, The FA’s Director of the Women’s Professional Game, welcomed the news of the new partnership. She said: “I’m delighted that a recognised brand such as Vitality has signed up to partner with us and sponsor such a prestigious competition as The Women’s FA Cup.

“We recognise that during a very difficult time for everyone that this is a big commitment that Vitality has made in becoming primary sponsor of The Women’s FA Cup, and I am really looking forward to working with them as we look to grow the competition.

“This partnership not only highlights the affection that so many have for The Women’s FA Cup, but it also demonstrates the growing interest in the women’s game, which is something I know Vitality is keen to develop alongside us.”

Nick Read, Managing Director for Vitality said: “We are incredibly excited to be announcing this new partnership with The FA today. We have been involved in both football and supporting women’s sport for many years, and today’s announcement highlights our commitment to the women’s game.

“There has never been a more important time to be involved in women’s football, and by working with The FA we hope to drive visibility of the women team, showcasing this great sport and encouraging millions more people get active and play football, in line with our core purpose to make people healthier and enhance and protect their lives.”

This week Vitality also announced former England footballer Alex Scott as a new Ambassador for the brand.

Speaking on Vitality’s sponsorship of The Vitality Women’s FA Cup, Vitality Ambassador Alex Scott said: “This announcement today is great news for the sport and profile of women’s football. I am pleased to be joining a brand that is shining a light on the game and driving visibility of the women’s game and hopefully inspiring many more women and girls to take up football, or whatever other activity might be right for them.”

The 2019/2020 Vitality Women’s FA Cup is still to be completed, with the final due to be played on Sunday 1 November at Wembley Stadium, kicking-off at 2.30pm live on BBC One.

England Netball has announced that health and life insurance and investments provider, Vitality has renewed its existing title partnership for a further three years.

This announcement, which is one of the largest deals in women’s sport in the UK, is another huge and positive moment for the sport. The new agreement will see the Commonwealth Gold medalists take to the court as the newly named ‘Vitality Roses’.

Vitality, whose mission is to make the UK healthier, will continue to be title partner of the Vitality Netball International Series and the Vitality Netball Superleague as part of its agreement with England Netball.

CEO of England Netball, Joanna Adams, said: “We are delighted that Vitality is renewing its partnership with England Netball following an already ground-breaking three years together.

“Vitality is a well-established and prominent brand and it is fantastic that they continue to recognise the positive impact of our sport. Vitality’s continued investment is further testament to the phenomenal growth we’ve seen in the sport in the last 12 months.

“There is still a lot of talk about women’s sport but very few brands are actually providing that vital funding so we are incredibly proud that Vitality are continuing their support and investment.

“This partnership will help us to continue to build on the amazing things we have already achieved at a grassroots level right through to the Roses particularly as we look ahead to the Netball World Cup on home soil next year.”

Tracey Neville, Head Coach of the Vitality Roses, said of the partnership: “Having Vitality as our major partner helps us do what we love as our job. They were a massive part of us getting gold at the Commonwealth Games and without partners like Vitality we simply wouldn’t be able to spend as many hours on the training court together – they continue to make that possible for us. We are extremely proud to have them on board and to be known as the Vitality Roses – it’s fantastic.”

Neville Koopowitz, CEO of Vitality, said: “We’re delighted to renew our partnership with England Netball and extremely honoured that the team will now be called the Vitality Roses. It’s been incredible to be part of their amazing journey over the past three years and we look forward to continuing our support as the sport goes from strength to strength.”

Courtesy of England Netball

The innovative health and life insurance company has signed a four-year deal to sponsor ECB’s domestic T20 Blast as well as key grassroots T20 tournaments – plus a two-year agreement to be the title sponsor of all England’s home international T20 series, both women’s and men’s.

The new partnership will give Vitality full competition naming rights, in-ground advertising and hospitality rights as well as access to England players.

Starting this season, the agreement will encompass:

• The Vitality Blast – a competition which attracted a record aggregate attendance of more than 900,000 last year.
• England men’s Vitality IT20 contests, featuring matches with Australia and India this summer
• England women’s Vitality IT20 tri-series featuring New Zealand and South Africa in 2018

Vitality’s support for the recreational game will include title sponsorship of three key grassroots properties: the men’s and women’s Vitality Club T20 competitions plus the Vitality U19 Club T20 tournament, which was launched nationwide in 2015 and attracted entries from 675 clubs last year.

The new sponsorship sees Vitality further increase its footprint in cricket. The insurer has been an Official Partner of the ECB since 2013 and counts England Test captain Joe Root as one of its Ambassadors. Beyond cricket, Vitality has a comprehensive sponsorship portfolio which embraces a wide range of sports, including football, rugby, hockey, netball and run events.

ECB Commercial Director Rob Calder said: “We’re excited to be working with a partner who shares our enthusiasm and passion for T20 cricket. It’s the fastest growing format of the game, an integral part of ECB’s long-term strategy and has a critical role to play in bringing new people to the sport.

“Vitality are an established brand in the sports marketplace with a proven track record of using sponsorship successfully to grow fan-bases and improve participation levels. They’re a natural fit for a partnership to drive interest and engagement in all our different T20 competitions at every level.”

Neville Koopowitz, CEO of Vitality, said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with the ECB for T20 cricket. T20 is a brilliant innovation that’s revolutionising the sport around the world.

“This new sponsorship aligns with our own vibrant brand and fits with our desire to increase awareness and engagement among families and across all levels of the game while at the same time telling more people about Vitality.”

Report courtesy of the ECB

Vitality branding will feature on the England Team kit as they compete at the Netball World Cup alongside the other top 15 international netball nations from 7^th – 16^th August.

Tracey Neville, England Netball Head Coach comments: “It is absolutely fantastic that a well-recognised company such as Vitality who are so committed to improving people’s health and wellbeing, have partnered with England Netball. This partnership has a perfect fit and the support of Vitality will go a long way to ensure we can build the best platform to develop netball and encourage women to participate for years to come.”

Jo Adams, England Netball CEO: “We are delighted that the successes we have achieved as a leading women’s sport have been recognised by a prominent brand in Vitality. This partnership represents the largest ever sponsorship deal in England Netball history and we can’t wait to start our work together to continue the promotion of our wonderful sport.”

“As an organisation, England Netball is committed to delivering the best possible experience for all of our participants, from grassroots right through to the England Roses. This agreement will allow us to build on the fabulous work we have already achieved as well as continuing to create innovative and inclusive opportunities for netballers across the country.”

Neville Koopowitz, Vitality CEO comments: “We believe in the power of sport to help inspire people to live a healthy life, which is why we partner with leading sports figures, teams and events to help us share the Vitality message. We hope to show our support for women in sport through this new partnership. We are excited to be sponsoring the England Netball Team as they enter into the Netball World Cup and hope that with our support they have a successful tournament over in Sydney.”

The Netball World Cup is a celebration of the continued growth and impact of netball globally. This year will see the 14th edition of the event which is set to be the best and biggest the sport has ever seen. For the first time, the competition will be held over 10 days, and will see the world’s elite Netball teams go head-to-head for the trophy.

This partnership with England Netball further reinforces Vitality’s commitment to raising the profile of health and life insurance throughout the UK and their ambition to inspire people to get active and live healthy lives.