On July 18, the International Cricket Council announced the inclusion of Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Switzerland as ICC’s new members at the ICC’s 78th Annual General Meeting.
The meeting was a virtual meeting. ICC welcomed Mongolia and Tajikistan as the 22nd and 23rd Members of the Asia region and Switzerland as Europe’s 35th Member. ICC now has 106 members in total with 94 associate members.
Cricket in Mongolia
The Mongolia Cricket Association (MCA) was established in 2007 in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar by Battulga Gombo. MCA became the official national sports administrator in 2018. Mongolia has a well-structured and growing school cricket plan with 39% of participants being girls. Mongolia is all set to host the International Youth Green Games in September 2021, where cricket is one of the participating sports.
President of Mongolia Cricket Association Mr. Battulga Gombo said: “Joining the ICC is fundamental in the establishment of a coherent structure for cricket in Mongolia. I am happy to see this noble game helping the young people here, contributing valuable experiences and giving them skills and ethics that they can take into other areas of their lives.”
“The MCA’s focus will continue to be the Schools’ Outreach Programme both in Ulaanbaatar and in the provinces, on inter-school competition and inter-province competition in the National Youth Games. We see this as the best way to sow the seed of cricket so that the sport becomes part of Mongolian life,” he added.
Cricket in Switzerland
Cricket has been played in Switzerland since at least 1817. Switzerland got its own cricket association, Cricket Switzerland, in 2014. The association currently has 33 active clubs and CS organizes three men’s domestic tournaments and regularly competes in European cricket competitions.
Cricket Switzerland President, Alexander Mackay said: “We are immensely proud and excited to have been accepted as an Associate Member of the ICC. This is a reward for all the people involved in cricket in Switzerland that has helped develop the game from mainly ex-pat sport just ten years ago, to the established Swiss national sport that it is today. This latest step will help us develop cricket further in Switzerland and to become a driving force in European cricket at all levels.”
Cricket in Tajikistan
Tajikistan Cricket Federation was formed in 2011 with the support of the Ministry of Sports and the Olympic Committee that led the development of infrastructure and setting the domestic cricket structure of women’s and junior cricket. TCF has now successfully set up 22 men’s teams and 15 women’s teams across four affiliated member associations.
President of Tajikistan Cricket Federation Mr. Najibullohi Ruzi said: “The Tajikistan Cricket Federation is delighted to be accepted as an Associate Member of the ICC, having fulfilled all the membership requirements and we are very confident that we can successfully grow cricket in Tajikistan. This is a great incentive for us to focus on further accelerating the development work on our existing facilities, increase our capabilities in the areas of coaching and umpiring. The other areas on our priority list are high-performance programs for juniors and seniors’ both men and women”.
ICC General Manager – Development, William Glenwright said: “We are delighted to be welcoming three new Members into the ICC family, which reflects the growth and potential of the global game. All three applications demonstrated an impressive commitment to growing the game – particularly amongst women and youth – and we look forward to assisting them in achieving their potential. As cricket activity begins to emerge from the pandemic, we are at an exciting stage of cricket’s growth with ambitious plans and projects to deliver in partnership with our members to not only navigate the impact of COVID-19 but to also help achieve transformative growth for the sport globally.”
Source: ICC Media