U.S. Cricket, Global Sports Ventures Work To Fund American Pro Cricket League

A U.S. pro cricket league will be started with the help of a $70M licensing agreement "between the United States of America Cricket Association (USACA) and Pennsylvania-based Global Sports Ventures," according to Erik Matuszewski of FORBES. The move is a "significant first step in growing the popular sport in the U.S., which has the second highest viewership of cricket in the world behind only India." The multiyear licensing agreement means a franchised Twenty20 pro league "will be established within the next year or so." There are ongoing talks about the "number of teams, the cities in which they’ll be based, the facilities in which they’ll play, and the creation of player contracts for both men and women." USACA President Gladstone Dainty: "When we put that product together, we want it to be a quality product. We will immediately start to put it in place, but we won't rush it to market" (FORBES.com, 9/29).