THE Government of Guyana is yet to sign the Host Venue Agreement with Hero Caribbean Premier League (Hero CPL) in order to confirm the hosting of Guyana’s matches of the tournament for the 2018 season.
The confirmation came yesterday from Sports Minister Dr George Norton, after Hero CPL announced the fixture for the 34-match season on Tuesday, with Guyana the notable absentee from the host venues.
As customary, venue agreements are mandatory by each host country, but according to Dr Norton, he is not familiar with any such contract this time around.
“As we speak the Government of Guyana and CPL have not signed any Host Venue Agreement contract, hence I am not familiar with any such contract this time around,” Dr Norton confirmed to Chronicle Sport via telephone.
In January Chief Operating Officer of CPL, Pete Russell confirmed to Guyana Times, that Guyana will see an increased number of matches being played at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.
In fact, Russell had said that in addition to the tournament’s curtain-raiser, where Guyana is expected to host three matches, there is a possibility that the Guyana Amazon Warriors will wrap up the competition with two additional matches towards the back end of the five-week tournament.
However, according to the fixture, the local franchise is set to play St Kitts & Nevis Patriots on August 9, St Lucia Stars on August 11, Barbados Tridents on August 12, Jamaica Tallawahs on September 8 and Trinbago Knight Riders on September 9, but the venue for those five games are yet to be confirmed.
Head of PR and Communications for the CPL, Peter Miller, confirmed to Chronicle Sport on Tuesday that there is nothing to be worried about.
He said, “We are just waiting for all the boxes to be ticked as far as location is concerned, so as things stand at the moment, it is still to be determined as far as venue is concerned, but there should be good news in the next couple of days.”
“I’m sure it will be the good news that you would expect to hear,” he reckoned.
The hosting of the Caribbean Premier League T20 games has largely been considered a successful venture for Guyana over the years with figures from 2017 showing that US$14M or G$2.8B was made while hosting four matches.
The games always attract sold–out crowds, and for Guyana not to be a host venue this season will definitely be disappointing.
“The sold–out crowds over the years speak for itself in terms of popularity and what to expect, so not having a match or matches will surely be disappointing,” Minister Norton said.
The league will enter its sixth year and the Amazon Warriors have played in three of the five finals to date but are yet to lift the title.
