Cricket gets its Champions Twenty20 League
Enthused by the individual successes of their domestic Twenty20 Leagues and the overwhelming global acceptance of the DLF Indian Premier League, organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, KFC Big Bash Twenty20 organized by Cricket Australia and the Standard Bank Pro20 conducted by Cricket South Africa, the three boards have reached an agreement to stage the inaugural “Champions Twenty20” later this year.
The Champions Twenty20 League will be a collaboration by the three cricketing boards to build on the success of their domestic Twenty20 leagues in an effort to accelerate the development of cricket globally. Importantly, this would mark the introduction of a long-awaited football-style Champions League format for cricket, which will pit the best-of-the-best clubs in domestic cricket globally against each other.
The ten-day inaugural tournament will be played from Sept. 29 to Oct. 8. The eight teams will be representing the finalists in the various domestic leagues, as per regulations of the League. The eight teams will play 15 matches in the inaugural Champions Twenty20. The number will move up to 12 teams playing 23 matches from year two.
The eight teams will be divided into two groups of four teams each. After the preliminary league matches, the top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals and their winners will clash in the grand finale.
Teams will be competing for a prize pool of US$6 million in the Champions Twenty20.
At the meeting today, the regulations concerning the league, the business plan, the governance model, the shareholding pattern and the commercial aspects including the tender process relating to the League have been approved.
Lalit Modi, Chairman & Commissioner of the Indian Premier League and Vice President BCCI, said, “The success of the DLF Indian Premier League has undoubtedly captured the imagination of cricket supporters from around the world. The Champions Twenty20 League, which will be played by eight best teams from the world which have earned their place through their domestic competitions, provides a new and exciting pinnacle for club championships across the world.
It will provide teams with the opportunity to earn the title of World Club Champions in a format which will be eagerly anticipated by spectators and players alike. I keenly look forward to the inaugural season of the Champions Twenty20 League in September/October 2008.”
James Sutherland, Chief Executive of Cricket Australia, said, “This fantastic new competition gives our best state cricketers, and their equivalents in other competitions, a chance to pit their skills against champions from other countries.
I am also delighted that the benefits of this global event will flow down to state level and enhance cricket at grass roots level. I am certain it will add a whole new dimension to our own KFC Big Bash Twenty20 interstate competition and globally, will help us all in winning new fans for cricket around the world.”
Gerald Majola, Chief Executive of Cricket South Africa, said, “The Champions Twenty20 League is an idea whose time has come. I am certain this competition will significantly enhance the international stature of domestic cricket and pave the way for greater involvement of cricketers, right from the club, province, state and county through to the national and international arenas.
CSA is proud to be associated with this initiative and we are sure that this event will ignite the passion of cricket lovers the world over, quite along the lines of what we had experienced with both our current Standard Bank Pro20 and the recently held inaugural ICC T20 World Cup held in South Africa last September.”
The Champions Twenty20 League is the first attempt of this type of concept in cricket and is aimed at producing more players capable of competing at the highest level. The Twenty20 Champions League’s mission will be to promote and develop cricket from the grassroots level upwards and promote the spirit of cricket among all the players and participating teams.