England, Australia, And India Are In Talks To Launch A Women’s Champions League. Following the phenomenal success of the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL), Australia, India, and England are in advanced talks to launch a cricket Women’s Champions League as early as next year.
Cricket Australia’s chief executive and chair, Nick Hockley and Mike Baird, have been discussing the notion with their counterparts at the BCCI and the ECB in recent weeks, including discussions surrounding the Lord’s Ashes Test and the World Test Championship (WTC) final at the Oval.
Discussions On Women’s Premier League
When contacted by “The Age”, a CA representative confirmed that conversations were underway but declined to disclose any further details.
More debate centered on the ICC’s annual conference last week in South Africa. When member nations accepted a plan to grant the BCCI up to 38% of earnings from the recently concluded $US3 billion ($4.35 billion) sale of rights to international events.
This is nearly double the 22% India received under the last distribution deal, which was ratified in 2017. T20 franchise competitions now have stronger rules, such as requiring at least seven local players in each side.
Cricket Australia chairman Mike Baird, is due to join the ICC’s powerful financial and commercial affairs committee. Pitting him against the BCCI’s strong secretary Jay Shah on the fundamental issues of cricket economics.
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Growth Of Women’s Cricket
The Women’s Premier League (WPL)’s spectacle has been a crucial engine for the Champions League idea. With enormous crowds and substantial TV viewers after the BCCI sold rights to the game to Viacom18 for $US116.5 million ($169 million) over five years.
It would be a far more momentous breakthrough for the game than the declaration at the end of the Durban summit of equal prize money for men’s and women’s World Cups. Unlike in tennis or golf, contracts and match fees are the lifeblood of a cricketer’s career, and they would skyrocket if the Champions League was a success.
The league’s establishment, with broadcast rights money split among the countries involved, would be similar to the attempt to establish a men’s T20 Champions League when the IPL was started in 2008. This time, a women’s Champions League is viewed as the obvious next step in capitalising on the strength of the WPL, WBBL, and Hundred competitions in England.
The past two women’s T20 World Cups have also featured large audiences and excellent cricket. The first one was held in Australia in 2020 just before COVID-19 broke out, and the second one was held in South Africa earlier this year, when Australia once again won in a close match against the hosts.
There is a desire to start the event in a targeted way and expand from there, while it is likely that the tournament may also feature clubs from other leagues, such as the Caribbean Premier League. The venues would change, and the host nation would keep all match proceeds from ticket sales and corporate hospitality. Alyssa Healy, the captain of Australia, has spoken out in favour of greater funding for women’s sport development in more countries.
