McCrea Financial Services: Two Decades of Backing West of Scotland Cricket Club
For nearly 20 years, McCrea Financial Services has been a familiar name at West of Scotland Cricket Club, proudly supporting us through a long-standing sponsorship that has helped nurture grassroots sport in Glasgow’s West End.
The partnership began through Founder and former Managing Director of McCrea Financial Services, Douglas McCrea, West End born and bred and a self-proclaimed sports nut who spent many weekends watching cricket at Hamilton Crescent. From county matches featuring Scotland to international fixtures with Australia and Pakistan, Dougie was a regular on the boundary ropes long before his company’s name adorned the terrace.
“After setting up McCreas in 1999 part of our marketing strategy was to support and sponsor a number of local sports teams.” He explains. “I had loads of pals at Hamilton Crescent and it gave me a great excuse to head off to West to watch sport and have a beer. This was all work of course!”
Dougie is a passionate sport enthusiast: football, rugby, tennis, golf – you name it. “Having been mince at most of these,” he laughs, “the automatic default was to watch live sport instead.” He fondly recalls memorable days supporting Scotland away from home, including a rain-soaked match at Worcestershire where the Scots were 3 for 3 chasing a Vikram Solanki 132 which took Worcestershire to 365 for 7. Thankfully rain intervened when Scotland were 20 for 3 giving them an unlikely draw - much to the displeasure of the members bar at New Road!
Over the years, the sponsorship between McCrea Financial Services and West of Scotland CC has generated more than just brand visibility. “It’s been a win-win,” Dougie says. “Having the team known as McCrea FS West of Scotland has allowed us to promote the business and raise name awareness while also helping out West.” One highlight of the publicity came when media coverage of the anniversary of the first Scotland vs England football match featured the company’s branding in the background of a photo with Harry Kane and Ally McCoist.
Ally McCoist and Harry Kane meet at Hamilton Crescent while McCrea Financial Services adorns the terrace
There have been plenty of fun moments, like the memorable match-day event for clients that took a swift turn. “We’d invited 50 guests for an afternoon at Hamilton Crescent, however, the visiting side were 26 for 8 by 1pm! They ended up all out soon after and by the time our guests arrived the game was over.” Fortunately, West’s first XI generously agreed to stage an impromptu match for the guests—in exchange for a few beer vouchers – and McCrea FS Australian staff member even took a hat-trick!
As Dougie steps back from business life, having sold the company and retired, the sponsorship is also coming to a close. Reflecting on the journey, he highlights the value of deeper engagement with all aspects of the club. “If I had the journey again we would have spent more time working with the juniors as well as the women's teams. With all our sponsorships we have always tried to 'give a bit back' and it would have been good to try and help two very important sections of the club.”
To future sponsors, his advice is clear: “Get involved and be proactive. West is a great club full of good people. If you commit to the relationship, both your business and the club will benefit. I’m confident West will go from strength to strength, hopefully in a shiny new clubhouse.”
West of Scotland Cricket Club would like to thank Dougie for his support over the years. McCrea Financial Services’ legacy at West is a shared passion, community spirit, and a love of the game.
Interested in supporting us? Reach out via our contact form or email us at westofscotlandcc@gmail.com to discuss how we can create a winning partnership.
