The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) has welcomed the outcome of the recent ICC meetings in which the majority of the members voted in favour of changes to the governance and financial structure.
The decision to do away with the ‘Big Three’ model, which wrests the majority of financial and decision-making muscle with three countries, is a move that has pleased the players’ association, which hopes for greater transparency and clarity in terms of financial matters.
“FICA hopes that this will lead to greater financial clarity, consistency and transparency across all countries,” Tony Irish, FICA’s Executive Chairman, said. “The global game needs as many countries as possible to be economically healthy, but it will now be equally important to ensure that all countries apply sufficient resource to ensuring that their teams are competitive and that they are able to retain their best players in international cricket.”
“We will continue to urge the ICC to make those changes necessary to ensure that it becomes a truly independent global governing body, making decisions for the good of the global game,” added Irish, who wanted the ICC to ensure that the change in the governance sees the light of day.
The changes to the revenue model and governance structure, which includes a review of full membership, will be presented before the Full Council for adoption in June. The ICC though is yet to figure out a direction for providing proper structure and relevance to the different formats of cricket, which FICA feels must be done as a priority with presence of several T20 Leagues around the world.
“This is a critical time in the game for a new global playing structure and framework. This structure must provide the right balance between international cricket and domestic T20 leagues, and accommodate clear trends in the global player employment market and the global cricket economy. The discussions on this at the ICC have been going on for some time now and I can’t emphasise enough how important it is for players that a better structure is finalised. FICA continues to urge the ICC to prioritise this issue,” Irish said.
Meanwhile, the ICC is awaiting a reply from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which was out-voted in its opposition to the proposed changes. ICC offered the Indian Board an additional USD 100 million after changes to the revenue structure, only to be rejected by the latter. The offer though is still on the table and BCCI might take a decision following a Special General Meeting.
 has welcomed the outcome of the recent ICC meetings in which the majority of the members voted in favour of changes to the governance and financial structure.){kind=link}