St. John's (Antigua), Feb 13 (IANS): Spanish sports brand Joma has been named the kit supplier for the West Indies men’s and women’s teams, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) announced.

The West Indies men’s team will debut the kit in their opening match of ICC World Cup Feb 16 against Ireland, reports CMC.

"What is particularly significant about this partnership with Joma is that they are not a traditional cricket kit supplier, yet they recognise the value of West Indies cricket on the world stage and have chosen to partner with the WICB as their launch pad into the cricket world," WICB commercial manager Nelecia Yeates said Thursday.

"We warmly welcome Joma onboard. It is a best case scenario that the debut of the Joma kit will be during cricket’s marquee global event - the World Cup and we look forward to this partnership being a mutually successful one both for West Indies cricket and Joma."

The debut Joma West Indies kit design is consistent with the globally recognised maroon colours of the West Indies team, WICB said in a release.

Joma’s contract as official kit supplier will run until 2017.

“WICB sponsorship is a significant development for Joma for different reasons most especially because it involves commercial entry into the cricket market,” said Joma representative, Luigui Mantovani.