by ITTF

Notably it will be the second time that the tournament has been staged in North America; the first being last year in Philadelphia when over 45 million viewers watched the event on television.

“Table tennis embodies health and happiness for the global audience; this is very much in line with Uncle Pop’s vision of making healthy high-quality snacks for consumers all over the world and become the leading Chinese manufacturer of leisure food. It is this common ideology that brought about this partnership; we hope to continue to have a long-term partnership in future.” Yang Xiaoyong, Chair of Uncle Pop

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 Yang Xiaoyong and the then ITTF Marketing and Commercial Director, now acting Chief Executive Officer, Steve Dainton formalised the deal.

“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.” Steve Dainton

A delighted Steve Dainton, it was a very similar reaction from Tony Kiesenhofer, the Chief Executive Officer of Table Tennis Canada.

“We had a number of interests for the title sponsorship but we chose Uncle Pop as the company plans to expand into North America; while strengthening its base in Asia aligns with our plans for hosting high level international events in Canada. We can provide programming that is of interest to viewers in North America and in Asia; this results in large television audiences and great brand exposure for our sponsors.” Tony Kiesenhofer

The Uncle Pop 2017 ITTF Women’s World Cup features 20 players and was first staged in 1996 in Hong Kong.