Chief executive officer (CEO) of the International Cricket Council (ICC) – Geoff Allardice, on Sunday, clarified that the bid of the cricketing body to include the game in the Olympics is about taking the sport to non-cricketing markets.
Allardice said that ICC’s bid to include cricket in the Olympics is in no way about minting money.
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ICC has been pushing for inclusion of cricket in the Olympics as women’s T20 cricket is all set to make its debut at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
“In many of our members, being seen as an Olympic sport and having an association with the government and the national Olympic movement is something that is going to be really beneficial in terms of facilities and high-performance assistance,” Allardice was quoted as saying in SEN Radio show This Is Your Journey – thanks to Tobin Brothers.
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He added: “It is certainly not a money-making exercise from our point of view, it’s about getting exposure for cricket in markets where we may not be popular.”
“And the other one is about giving all of our 106 members the opportunity to engage more closely with their governments,” ICC’s CEO Geoff Allardice further said.
“In some countries, being an Olympic sport gets you closer to your government than not being an Olympic sport,” Allardice said.
Notably, ICC has been pushing for inclusion of cricket in the 2028 Olympics.