Dear cricketers and cricket fans in Europe and all over the world, There has been a lot of talk about the new league recently, so here below is a list of frequently asked questions and answers.
Dear cricketers and cricket fans in Europe and all over the world,
There has been a lot of talk about the new league recently, so here below is a list of frequently asked questions and answers.
What is the ECL?
The European Cricket League (“ECL”) is the Champions League of cricket in Europe, therefore, it will initially be played by 8 champion clubs from eight domestic leagues around Europe.
Why launch the ECL?
To make cricket the number one summer team sport in Europe.
In almost all countries on earth, there is a mainstream kicking team sport in winter (football/soccer/rugby), and a mainstream hitting team sport in summer (cricket/baseball). But when you think about the core of continental Europe, there is no mainstream hitting team sport in summer.
The ECL is by Europe, for Europe, celebrating European cricket and its players, clubs and federations from the sport’s grassroots and beyond.
There are 23 million cricket fans living in continental Europe
Clubs are the key ingredient to help make sports’ mainstream in Europe.
Sport clubs are local and accessible, have access to grounds and infrastructure, can tap local government support and can provide sport structures for children, women and men to promote sport participation.
We want cricket to be an attractive sport so that sport clubs all over Europe launch cricket departments.
Any club and any player playing in a club in an ECL member federation country can qualify to play and win the Champions League of Cricket in Europe.
There already exists a large number of leagues and club cricket played throughout Europe. For example the cricket board in Denmark is over 133 years old and there is currently over 270 cricket teams already playing in Germany. In over 34 countries in Europe, domestic cricket leagues already exist!
How can we watch the ECL?
Right here! We have built the European Cricket Network (“ECN”), which is the digital destination for watching the streams and live scores of the ECL.The ECN will be available via the Android and iOS app stores, and will be launched soon.
What countries cricket federations are in the ECL 19?
The official cricket federations of Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Spain.
We plan to add additional European federations in the years to come.
Who is organising the ECL?
Founder: Daniel Weston, a current German national team cricketer, previously a commodity and tech investor, trader and Hedge Fund Manager. Now fully focussed on building cricket in Europe. So that his and his cricket loving friends children in Europe have a chance to grow up where cricket is an easily accessible sport for young children to join clubs and learn to play
CEO: Roger Feiner, previously Head of Broadcasting at FIFA and MD of Teleclub Sports and VP of MySports
President: Frank Leenders, previously MD of TEAM Marketing for the UEFA Champions League since 1992, also involved in marketing for Eurovision Song Contest and Director General of FIBA Media and Marketing for the FIBA Basketball World Cup
Board Member: Thomas Klooz, previously CEO of TEAM Marketing for the UEFA Champions League since 1992, also involved in marketing for Eurovision Song Contest and Board Member of FIBA Media and Marketing for the FIBA Basketball World Cup
Operations: James Kantor, previously involved in German Cricket TV content creation and live streaming of cricket in Germany
Operations: Jonty Altmann, previously involved in German Cricket TV content creation and live streaming of cricket in Germany
Who is playing in ECL 19?
The 2018 domestic league club champions from eight of Europe’s top domestic federations: Denmark (Svanholm CC); France (Ville De Dreux); Germany (SG Findorff); Italy (JCC Brescia); Netherlands (VOC Rotterdam); Spain (Catalunya CC); Romania (Cluj CC); and Russia (St. Petersburg Lions).
Again, in our roadmap is the addition of more European federations in the years to come.
Who will umpire the ECL?
Each of the countries federations will nominate a “Champion Umpire” from the previous season who is deemed by the federation to have been the best umpire in domestic league cricket. There will be two on-field umpires, a third umpire, and match referee for each match, who will not be from the federations in which the teams are from in each particular match, plus an overall ECL tournament referee.
Who will score the ECL?
Each of the countries federations will nominate a “Champion Scorer” from the previous season who is deemed by the federation to have been the best scorer in domestic league cricket. There will be three scorers per match, with two of the scorers coming from the federations whose federation team is playing in the match and one scorer who is not from either of the federations participating in that match.
Also Read: La Manga Club to host the new European Champions League of cricket! | Kookaburra is the official ball & kit partner of the European Cricket League
Where is the ECL being played?
On southern Europe’s best grass wicket and cricket facility and hotel resort, La Manga Club, lamangaclub.com
Who is providing the balls?
The world’s greatest and most famous cricket ball maker, Kookaburra, kookaburra.biz
Who is suppling the on and off-field official clothing?
Legendary sports brand, New Balance Team Sports, newbalanceteam.co.uk
Who is taking the teams to the ECL?
Business travel done simple, by the hottest start-up in travel, BizAway, bizaway.com
Also Read:New Balance team up with the ECL as the official team-wear partner | Travel partners BizAway helps the ECL take flight!
Who is producing the broadcast of the ECL?
The world’s leading production company that does Wimbledon, the NFL, the NBA and Eurovision, NEP, nepgroup.com
How can I play in the ECL?
That is easy! By joining a club and finding your team in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Spain - then by winning and becoming the domestic league champion! The best way to find a club, is to do a Google or Facebook search in your area!
To all cricketers in Europe, now is your time to take cricket beyond being a fan of cricket back “home”. If you love cricket in Europe, think about how you can help play, coach, umpire, score, promote and grow your favourite sport in our own cities, towns and villages. It is what we do for the game now, which will help to see it grow in the years, decades and generations to come.
Let’s make cricket the winner!
Daniel Weston - Founder, European Cricket League
