Lycamobile rewards sporting excellence as sponsor of The British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards
6th February 2015: Lycamobile, the largest global provider of low-cost international mobile calls, today announces its sponsorship of the first-ever British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards (BEDSAs), which celebrate excellence amongst Britain’s outstanding Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) sportspeople.
The Lycamobile BEDSAs, organised by Sporting Equals take place on Saturday, 21st February 2015 with a star-studded ceremony at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena. Eight out of the ten awards at the event will be voted for by the public.
Nominees at the Lycamobile BEDSAs include Olympic boxing gold medallist Nicola Adams and 2014 Commonwealth Games silver medal sprinter Adam Gemili who will be joined by judges such as Olympic medallist Joslyn Hoyte-Smith and former BBC sports editor Mihir Bose. Also attending will be Helen Grant MP, Minister for Sport, Tourism and Equalities, and Olympic heptathlon gold medallist Denise Lewis. The awards ceremony will be hosted by actor Nitin Ganatra from the BBC’s EastEnders.
In addition to its support as title sponsor of the Lycamobile BEDSAs, the global mobile provider is also sponsoring the Lycamobile Sportsman of the Year category. The three nominees for that coveted award are Adam Gemili, world champion cyclist Kian Emadi and England cricket all-rounder Moeen Ali.
Other categories include those for sportswoman of the year, young sportsperson of the year, unsung hero of the year, coach of the year, inspirational performance of the year and lifetime achievement.
Subaskaran Allirajah, Group Chairman, Lycamobile commented:
“The BEDSAs are a great opportunity to highlight the outstanding contributions British ethnic minorities make to the country’s sporting achievements. As a company we have a long and proud record of supporting sport from the grassroots to the highest professional level, and we see our integral involvement in the BEDSAs as another piece of this long-term commitment.”
Arun Kang, CEO, Sporting Equals, said:
“We are delighted to be working with Lycamobile, a brand with a great track record engaging with ethnic minority communities across the UK. Over half of British BME people do no sport or physical activity, so we see the Lycamobile BEDSAs as a perfect way to celebrate the best BME athletes around and encourage more participation from the community upwards.”
About the BEDSAs
The British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards (BEDSA) are the first awards of its kind in the UK and celebrate excellence among black, Asian and minority ethnic sports men and women. The ceremony brings together over 800 guests including Olympic medallist Denise Lewis and former BBC sports editor Mihir Bose and takes place at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry on 21 February 2015.
The awards are organised by Sporting Equals, a UK wide charity promoting ethnic diversity across all sports and physical activity. Through its innovative programmes such as Future Champions (promoting up and coming talent), Leader board (increasing diversity on boards of Sports Organisations) and its work with Sport England, Sporting Equals aims to create partnerships between BME communities, faith organisations and governing bodies of sport.
About Lycamobile
Lycamobile is a prepaid mobile SIM card provider that provides low-cost, high-quality international and national calls and has acquired over 12 million customers across 18 countries (UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Romania, Spain, Australia, France, Germany, Poland, Ireland, Portugal, Italy and the USA). Lycamobile is available through an extensive network of more than one million retail outlets. The brand was initially introduced in 2006 and is already Europe’s largest pre-pay MVNO. Lycamobile continues to grow rapidly with further market launches planned throughout 2015.
