ICC issues warning over government interference
HONG KONG: Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have been given a maximum of two years to reorganise their boards after the International Cricket Council (ICC) ordered its members to free themselves from government interference or face sanctions.
The ICC annual conference upheld a constitutional amendment to provide for the principle of free elections and the independence of member boards, cricket’s governing body said in a statement on Thursday.
“It was agreed that all member boards must implement the provisions before annual conference in June 2012 and a further 12 months (to June 2013) would be allowed before any sanctions would be considered,” the statement read.
“It was a well-established principle of modern sporting governance that national federations should be autonomous and free from interference from government in the administration of their affairs.”
The decision means administrative reforms will be required in at least three test playing nations.
In Pakistan, the cricket board chief is appointed by the country’s president, who is designated chief patron of the board.
Sri Lanka Cricket has an interim body which requires issues such as team selection to be approved by the sports ministry, while the Bangladesh board chief is appointed by the government.
The reform, which allows the ICC to suspend a member country in the event of government interference in the running of a national cricket board, will be hugely controversial in Pakistan, where the president is the cricket board’s patron.
The meeting was also held against a backdrop in which increasingly over the last couple of years the PCB has found itself isolated in boardroom matters. They have had few allies and an ongoing cold war with the BCCI has been particularly damaging on and off the field. In this context then, the results of the five-day meeting are not as bad as they could have been for the board. “The meeting has gone extremely well for us,” said Ijaz Butt, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman. “There were a couple of main issues for us and we are happy with the developments on those.”
Butt has been criticised by former players, politicians and media for being a political appointee of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party.
The PCB has already sent a legal notice to the ICC on the amendment and has threatened legal action if the constitution is changed.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the ICC’s full council after four days of talks between the chief executives’ committee and executive board at Hong Kong hotels.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said the reform was needed to bring cricket into line with standards practised in other global sports.
Football’s governing body FIFA can suspend national associations if they are tainted by government interference. Iraq is only just emerging from two years in the footballing wilderness after running afoul of the FIFA rules.
The ICC annual conference upheld a constitutional amendment to provide for the principle of free elections and the independence of member boards, cricket’s governing body said in a statement on Thursday.
“It was agreed that all member boards must implement the provisions before annual conference in June 2012 and a further 12 months (to June 2013) would be allowed before any sanctions would be considered,” the statement read.
“It was a well-established principle of modern sporting governance that national federations should be autonomous and free from interference from government in the administration of their affairs.”
The decision means administrative reforms will be required in at least three test playing nations.
In Pakistan, the cricket board chief is appointed by the country’s president, who is designated chief patron of the board.
Sri Lanka Cricket has an interim body which requires issues such as team selection to be approved by the sports ministry, while the Bangladesh board chief is appointed by the government.
The reform, which allows the ICC to suspend a member country in the event of government interference in the running of a national cricket board, will be hugely controversial in Pakistan, where the president is the cricket board’s patron.
The meeting was also held against a backdrop in which increasingly over the last couple of years the PCB has found itself isolated in boardroom matters. They have had few allies and an ongoing cold war with the BCCI has been particularly damaging on and off the field. In this context then, the results of the five-day meeting are not as bad as they could have been for the board. “The meeting has gone extremely well for us,” said Ijaz Butt, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman. “There were a couple of main issues for us and we are happy with the developments on those.”
Butt has been criticised by former players, politicians and media for being a political appointee of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party.
The PCB has already sent a legal notice to the ICC on the amendment and has threatened legal action if the constitution is changed.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the ICC’s full council after four days of talks between the chief executives’ committee and executive board at Hong Kong hotels.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said the reform was needed to bring cricket into line with standards practised in other global sports.
Football’s governing body FIFA can suspend national associations if they are tainted by government interference. Iraq is only just emerging from two years in the footballing wilderness after running afoul of the FIFA rules.
Published by Unknown
on 01:40.
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