Stanford Super Series gets go-ahead - but who is
Sir Allen Stanford?
 

Late last week, England's $20 million cricket match in the West Indies was given the go-ahead. The organisers of the match - Stanford 20/20 - confirmed that they had reached agreement with West Indies' sponsors Digicel, ensuring the Stanford Super Series and Stanford 20/20 for $20m will go ahead as planned later this month.

Sir Allen Stanford said: "I am pleased with both parties' solution oriented approach and most importantly that this matter has been finally resolved. "We look forward to welcoming fans from around the world to the Stanford Cricket Ground to enjoy a fantastic week of cricket." The Stanford Superstars squad is currently in training in Antigua and will continue their preparation uninterrupted leading into the Stanford Super Series, which will start on October 25th, culminating with the Stanford 20/20 for $20m clash between the Stanford Superstars and England on November 1st. Affluent Such huge prize money is a rarity in sport - so who is Sir Allen Stanford? And what experience does he have in the business of sponsorship? In fact Stanford has been around for quite a time. He is the chairman of the privately held, wholly owned Stanford Financial Group of Companies and began his business career in Houston, Texas, making his first fortune in real estate in the early 1980s. Since then he has expanded the insurance and real estate company his grandfather founded in 1932 into a global wealth management firm. Stanford Financial Group's clients are affluent investors, institutions, and emerging growth companies from 136 countries on six continents. Assets under management or advisement are in excess of US$50 billion.   Sir Allen and his companies have established a significant presence in golf, polo, tennis, cricket and sailing, sports which are popular among Stanford's wealthy clients. Stanford Financial Group is the title sponsor for such sporting events as the Stanford US Open Polo Championship, the Stanford USPA Silver Cup, the Stanford Antigua Sailing Week, the PGA Tour Stanford St. Jude Championship and the Stanford International Pro-Am. Created Stanford also sponsors professional golfers Vijay Singh, Camilo Villegas and David Toms, as well as Morgan Pressel on the LPGA Tour. In tennis, the company is a sponsor of the Sony Ericsson Open. Stanford also sponsors the Champions Series Tennis Tournaments featuring Jim Courier, John McEnroe and Pete Sampras. Sir Allen created and funded the Stanford 20/20 cricket tournament in the West Indies, for which he built his own ground in Antigua. The first Stanford 20/20 Cricket Tournament was held in July and August 2006. The second tournament took place in January and February 2008 with a global television audience of 300 million. In June 2008, Stanford and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) signed a deal for five Twenty20 internationals between England and a West Indies all-star XI with a total prize fund of £10m (US $20 million) for each game. It was the largest prize ever offered to a team for a single match.