FICA trying to ensure financial protection for players after Euro T20 slam cancellation

FICA trying to ensure financial protection for players after Euro T20 slam cancellation

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In the wake of the Euro T20 slam tournament being cancelled, the Federation of International Cricketers' Association (FICA) is working with the players to see if there is an option to help them. The organisers of the tournament had pulled the plug, citing financial problems last week.

The decision to pull the plug on the inaugural Euro T20 slam has left several players from Scotland, the Netherlands and Ireland - including marquee picks like Rashid Khan and Eoin Morgan - out of contract and with little hope of securing the wages promised to them. However, this isnā€™t a new problem in such T20 leagues. A FICA survey of almost 400 current men's and women's professional players conducted in 2018-19 suggests over 34% of them have experienced late payment or non-payment under a cricket contract.Ā 

"Some players had foregone other opportunities to commit to the league. And we also believe the league has an obligation to players to demonstrate some goodwill given the expectation created, especially if there is a genuine plan to go ahead with the event in the future," Tony Irish, FICA head, said in a press release on Monday, reported ESPNCricinfo.Ā 

"FICA had been in the process of assisting SCA (Scottish Cricketers' Association), ICA (Irish Cricketers' Association) and the players to put in place some basic contractual protections, in particular relating to player payments specific to the Euro T20 Slam. What has happened now simply emphasises the need for these protections. Separately, FICA is also aware of numerous cases of players not being paid what is owed to them under their playing contracts for other previously completed domestic T20 leagues," Irish added.

Most of these players who are from Associate nations donā€™t normally get contracts at the IPL or BBL level, and so, had looked forward to the competition with extra interest.

"Let's be honest, pretty much every one of the players was going to earn more in that space of time, to what they would earn in a full year playing cricket. You have to look at the impact it may have on some guys and certainly there's a couple of boys that were potentially looking to go away at some time during the winter and now they probably need to get a job. It would have created giving guys an opportunity to feel an element of security in what we try and do," Kyle Coetzer, Scotland captain, told ESPNCricinfo.

Irish sympathised with the players, admitting that the players are the ones who play a critical role in carrying the sport to all parts of the globe. He ensured the affected players that his team will continue to work with the ICC and member boards to put in enforceable protections.

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