Cricket Brasil Partnership is helping to build a new high-performance center

The partnership, announced earlier this year, will see the Oval Cricket Relief Trust provide three annual grants of €20,000 to Cricket Brasil, to support the development of participation and performance cricket in the South American country.

The first grant, provided this year, funded major improvements to the country's High Performance Center, the focus of Brazil's elite participation and the foundation for both the women's and men's national teams. The improvements include an increase in the size of the center by 500 square meters, the addition of new changing rooms, ice pools, physio facilities and Cricket Brasil offices.

Oval Cricket Relief Trust is a charity originally founded around theall-star charity T20 match held at The Oval in June 2005for which 1 million was raisedthe reconstruction of Maggonaa village on the west coast of Sri Lanka that was destroyed by the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004. Since then, the trust has helped finance projects in the United States and elsewhereRwandaGrenada, Barbados, India and Haiti.

Srgio Antnio Carvalho de Azevedo, Mayor of Pocos de Caldas, and Jonathan Knott, British Consul General in Brazil, were on hand to join Cricket Brasil officials and welcome England players Phoebe Graham, Ellie Threlkeld, Fi Morris and Tara Norris to celebrate the official opening. establishment on October 1^st.

October 1 was a special day and I would like to thank all of you at Surrey and the Oval Cricket Relief Trust for making it all possible, said Matt Featherstone, president of Cricket Brasil. We have completely transformed our center from a very simple training facility to a High Performance Center.

This is a game changer for us, providing our national teams with high quality facilities to prepare for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers and also the Olympic Games, as well as a bigger and better training center for many of our students from social projects in Poos de Caldas. More than 2,000 children will benefit from this improved

This three-year partnership will make a huge difference to cricket and performance, but more importantly, positively change people's lives through sport.

Roberta Moretti Avery, former Brazil captain and board member of Cricket Brasil, added: I am really proud to be part of a country that extends its path to athletes, but has the priorities of making people's lives better through sports.

Brazil has a strong foundation based on the development of people and coaches and the partnership fits very well with our values.

The new High Performance Center is just the first step in our work with Surrey and the Oval Cricket Relief Trust and will help Brazil develop structure and coaching, further consolidating Brazil's place as a strong benchmark for cricket in America .

Brazil recently hosted the South American Championships in both women's and men's cricket. Brazilian women on a full-time professional contract were successful in defending their title, topping a group that included Argentina, Mexico and the Cayman Islands and then beating Argentina in the final. Their current focus is to impress in qualifying for the 2026 Womens T20 World Cup, which will be held in England and Wales.

The men's team fell one match short in an eight-team competition alongside Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay and topped their group, but lost to fellow group winners Panama in a closely contested final.

Jon Surtees, Head of Community, Public Affairs and Projects at Surrey CCC, concluded: We believe we have a duty to support the development of cricket, not only at home but also abroad, where we can make a difference to the growth of the game. .

This fantastic facility in Pocos de Caldas will help Cricket Brasil continue to grow cricket in their incredible country, reach ever higher levels within the sport and inspire new generations of Brazil's 212 million people to pick up a bat and ball and compete to do.