The United States of America Cricket Association (USACA) has signed a $70 million deal with Global Sports Ventures, LLC, for the licensing rights of their domestic Twenty 20, Gladstone Dainty, the board’s president, confirmed on Thursday.
“USACA is thrilled to announce a commercial partnership with Global Sports Ventures, LLC to bring this long adored sport stateside, and are confident in their ability to grow the sport in the United States,” Dainty said. “This multi-year, multi-million dollar licensing agreement will change the way the sport is played, followed, watched and administered, and we’re excited to provide for the first time ever annual contracts to our players – both male and female.”
The deal comes after the country saw a rise in viewership during the ICC World Twenty 20 in India and the India vs West Indies Twenty 20 International (T20I) series in Florida. Jay Pandya, the president and CEO of Global Sports Ventures, LLC, expressed confidence of the deal being a fruitful one.
“The professional sports landscape is a notoriously tough market to break into, but we’re confident in the strength of the consumer demand in the US,” he said. “This agreement allows us to grow the world’s second most popular sport right here in our own backyard.”
The USACA was formed in 1965 but was suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in July this year.