When Allirajah Subaskaran bought the Jaffna Kings cricket team in September 2021, he wasn’t just acquiring a sports franchise. He was investing in northern Sri Lanka—the same region his family had fled during the ethnic conflict decades earlier. The team’s 2022 championship victory meant more than sporting success; it represented hope and pride for a community that had endured years of conflict and rebuilding.
Born March 2, 1972, Subaskaran understands what it means to maintain cultural connections across vast distances. His family’s journey from war-torn Sri Lanka to Europe shaped both his business philosophy at Lycamobile and his approach to sports investment. Just as his telecommunications company connects 16 million customers across 18 countries to family and friends worldwide, his sports ventures create bridges between communities separated by geography but united by shared cultural identity.
The Lycamobile chairman has built a sports portfolio that spans continents and cultures. His cricket teams represent Tamil communities in India and Sri Lanka, while football partnerships across Europe reach diverse immigrant populations who follow both local teams and competitions from their homelands.
Cricket Championships and Cultural Healing
The simultaneous success of Subaskaran’s two cricket franchises in 2022 demonstrated something remarkable. The Jaffna Kings captured the Sri Lankan Premier League title while the Lyca Kovai Kings, owned through his Chennai-based Lyca Productions, won India’s Tamil Nadu Premier League. Both victories resonated far beyond their immediate geographic boundaries, reaching Tamil diaspora communities worldwide.
For the Jaffna Kings specifically, the championship carried deep significance. Northern Sri Lanka had experienced decades of conflict, displacement, and slow reconstruction. The team’s success provided positive representation for communities that had seen little reason for celebration in recent years. Allirajah Subaskaran’s investment in the region where his own family had been displaced created a powerful symbol of return and renewal.
The cricket investments reflect his broader understanding that sports can heal cultural wounds while building economic opportunity. “We have a strategy to attract youth to cricket, enhance infrastructure, and broaden international opportunities,” Subaskaran explained when discussing Lycamobile’s expanding cricket partnerships.
Football Partnerships and Community Development
Lycamobile’s partnership with West Ham United, maintained since the 2012/13 season, extends well beyond traditional sponsorship. The “Lyca Mobile in the Community” initiative runs workshops, coaching sessions, and talent identification programs across Tower Hamlets, Newham, and Redbridge—areas with substantial immigrant populations who often face barriers to sports participation.
The Lycamobile Cup, a youth football tournament Subaskaran established, has engaged thousands of young people from disadvantaged communities over eleven years. Rather than just funding existing programs, he created new pathways for talent identification, specifically targeting under-represented groups that major football academies might overlook.
This community focus extends to Paris FC, where Allirajah Subaskaran holds an equity stake through BRI Sports Holdings. The Ligue 2 club partnership includes Lycamobile as shirt sponsor, supporting the team’s promotion ambitions while establishing presence in French markets where the company serves international communities.
Expanding Cricket Across Continents
Allirajah Subaskaran’s sports philanthropy has expanded beyond team ownership into comprehensive development programs. In 2024, Lycamobile partnered with the Uganda Cricket Association, providing support that included gifting iPhone 15 Pro Max phones to 15 World Cup squad members and meeting with Uganda’s First Family at State House.
The Uganda partnership demonstrates his systematic approach to sports development. Beyond material support—each phone was worth approximately £1,500—Lycamobile provided new kits for the Victoria Pearls women’s team and jerseys plus financial backing for the Cricket Cranes’ historic ICC T20 World Cup debut. The Cricket Cranes were later hosted at Lycamobile’s London headquarters, connecting African cricket development with the company’s UK operations.
This expansion into African cricket markets parallels Lycamobile’s business strategy of serving under-addressed communities that major competitors often ignore. Uganda’s cricket infrastructure needed investment and international connections—exactly what Subaskaran’s telecommunications and sports experience could provide.
Sports Awards and Youth Engagement
Beyond team ownership and partnerships, Subaskaran helped establish the Lycamobile British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards (BEDSAs), recognizing achievement across multiple sports while highlighting under-represented communities. The awards complement his broader charitable activities, which include tens of millions of pounds donated to community projects and education initiatives over the years.
These programs reflect his understanding that sports engagement requires more than funding professional teams. Young people from immigrant families often face financial constraints and cultural unfamiliarity with local sporting systems. By providing coaching, equipment, and recognition platforms, his initiatives address systemic barriers while building pathways to participation and achievement.
A Personal Mission
Subaskaran’s sports investments stem from personal experience rather than abstract business strategy. As someone who maintains British citizenship while hoping to regain Sri Lankan nationality, he understands the complexity of living between cultures. His sports ventures provide platforms for cultural expression and community building that go beyond what telecommunications services alone can offer.
The 2022 cricket championships, ongoing football partnerships, and expanding international programs demonstrate how business success can support cultural preservation and community development. For immigrant communities worldwide, these sports investments reinforce that maintaining cultural identity doesn’t require choosing between old loyalties and new homes.
Whether celebrating Tamil cricket victories, supporting youth football in east London, or developing cricket infrastructure in Uganda, Allirajah Subaskaran’s approach remains consistent: identify underserved communities, provide sustainable support, and create platforms for cultural connection that bridge geographic boundaries. It’s a philosophy born from displacement and refined through decades of business success in serving international communities.
