Yorkshire County Cricket Club is seeking to move on from the racism scandal it found itself engulfed in last year by signing a stadium sponsorship deal with the aptly-named Clean Slate.

The two-year agreement with Indian media firm Clean Slate Studioz will see its name feature prominently at the world-famous Headingley in Leeds, where the club has played since 1890.

Last year, former player Azeem Rafiq gave emotional evidence to MPs about years of racism he had suffered at the club, prompting fundamental change at Yorkshire and an unprecedented review across cricket.

Reacting to news of the Clean Slate deal, Rafiq told Sky News: “I just laughed, the timing, everything – I just thought it just fitted perfectly.”

“But it is everything else from now on that happens that is important,” he added.

“There’s a lot of good primary schools around Headingley and a big, diverse community.

“I just want them to be able to walk past Headingley and look at Headingley and think this is my club.”

Yorkshire’s ban on hosting cricket internationals at Headingley lifted after racism scandal prompts changes

Azeem Rafiq: Professional Cricketers’ Association chief executive Rob Lynch accepts failings

Azeem Rafiq attacks Middlesex chair Mike O’Farrell over ‘painful’ comments to MPs investigating racism in cricket

Read more: Who are the key people in the Yorkshire CCC racism scandal?

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Previous stadium sponsor Emerald Publishing was one of a series of commercial partners that cut ties with Yorkshire at the height of the scandal last autumn, plunging the club into a financial crisis that threatened its future.

Clean Slate says its mission is to challenge gender stereotypes in Indian film, and they want to help make Headingley “a flagbearer for inclusivity and diversity in cricket”.

Yorkshire’s chairman Lord Patel and managing director of cricket Darren Gough are both in Mumbai to launch the partnership with Clean Slate founder Karnesh Ssharma.

Lord Patel said: “This new partnership – with a vibrant Indian brand that knows how to entertain diverse communities – is an exciting step for Yorkshire.

“Our proud club has a great future, welcoming everyone into our ground and this game.”

Clean Slate founder Karnesh Ssharma said: “We’re incredibly proud to partner with Yorkshire and to be the first Indian company to have their name prominently featured within a UK sports ground.

“Clean Slate puts inclusivity and diversity at the fore of its entertainment roster, and we truly believe that our entertainment vision and values align with that of Yorkshire County Cricket Club moving forward.

“Our ambition is to help make the Headingley venue a beacon for equality and inclusivity in Yorkshire and the sport in general.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

A ban on hosting international cricket at Headingley was recently lifted by the England and Wales Cricket Board after Yorkshire demonstrated they had made significant progress addressing the problems that Rafiq had highlighted.

Consequently, England’s test match against New Zealand in June and a one-day international against South Africa will go ahead at Headingley – a key part of rebuilding the club’s reputation and finances.

Related posts:

‘I just want answers’: Richard Okorogheye’s mother ‘ripped apart’ by his death Women on pensions as low as £1 a week could be owed ‘lottery-winning’ sums in back payments ‘Devastated’ families mark scale of UK’s COVID deaths with huge memorial wall ‘We can’t rule anything out’: Minister on potential for restrictions in COVID hotspots Five teenagers appear in court over Newport murder Wales to ease COVID rules from Saturday – but face masks still needed indoors and on public transport Fuel prices continue to rise as cost of petrol reaches highest point since 2013 Recall on Tesco cough medicine which was incorrectly labelled Court of Appeal declines to increase jail sentence of man who choked lover to death during sex Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre settlement: What do we know and what happens next? Candy sweetens Chelsea bid as advisers decide on shortlist to buy club Boy, five, found dead in river suffered severe injuries ‘consistent with child abuse’, court hears