'How Will WC Profits be Shared?'

The man in charge of preparing Jamaica's bid to host matches in the 2007 World Cup cricket tournament wants to know how the profits from the mega-tournament will be distributed.

Dr Wayne Reid, chairman of the steering committee for Jamaica's World Cup bid, has asked the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) and other affiliates of the West Indies Board to find out if (and how) the profits from the tournament will be shared.

According to the Jamaica Gleaner, Dr Reid's queries came during a speech at the JCA's annual presentation ceremony where he noted the importance of all territories knowing if the money from the host agreement will be distributed and, if so, how it will be distributed.

According to Dr. Reid, the money should be distributed to the affiliates and they should know how it will be done from now.

"It is important that the affiliates know what will happen as it will serve as a motivating factor to the countries bidding to host games and to those who will host games. It is only reasonable to believe that if they know that they will receive a share of the profits and how the profits will be shared, they will work harder to make it a success," he asserted.

The ICC "owns" the Cricket World Cup tournament. For 2007, the ICC has given the WICB the rights to host this tournament and a Host Agreement was recently signed between two entities. In terms of funding, the ICC will provide the WICB with a hosting fee in return for its staging of the event.

The WICB has established a separate organisation, the West Indies World Cup 2007 Inc. to run this event with its own set of Directors and management team but not much is known about how the money will be distributed to participating territories and what the split will be.

During the speech, Dr Reid spelled out what was necessary to host matches during the World Cup and made it clear that Jamaica will be bidding for the final.

"We are going for it, and we will be doing everything in our power to get it," he declared.

Among other stipulations coming from the International Cricket Council (ICC), the venue for the semi-finals and the final must accommodate in excess of 30,000 spectators, and the decision to be made is whether to renovate Sabina Park or to build a new stadium in Trelawny.

According to Dr. Reid, the steering committee has been looking at the two proposals and in another few days it will make a recommendation to the Government.