CHIEF Executive Officer of the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League Pete Russell speaking exclusively with Chronicle Sports said that this year’s Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League was the best tournament yet.
“100 per cent, this is by far the best and biggest CPL, we have ever had, ticket sales been up 20 per cent and that is just the number of people who have been attending the games, record crowds in St Lucia, record crowds in Trinidad…it’s fantastic numbers for us, what it mean is the whole region embraces CPL and very much see it as a collective force for everyone to come together and that is something I’m very proud.”

The 2024 tournament was bowled off from the August 29 and concluded on Sunday last with a competitive final in which St Lucia won their first title defeating defending champions and host Guyana Amazon Warriors.
Russell says Guyana has raised the bar and taken the league to a new level off the field, adding that it brought more spectators because of the added cricket carnival season.

“If you think about the whole cricket carnival concept that rally is the catalyst, 25 per cent of our ticket sales for this final have been people coming from the USA or Canada, so you see it actually pull people in which is exactly what obviously his excellency (President Irfaan Ali) is looking for in terms of a

tourism products, CPL diffidently draws people from just from the region but the world, that the key in terms of being able to create economic value for whoever host the final, Guyana has been a fantastic partner.”

The League which first started in 2013 is a franchise-based T20 format cricket tournament which had prided itself on merging dramatic cricket and a vibrant Carnival atmosphere for what they call the biggest party in sports.
Russel also talked up the significance of the Guyana leg of the tournament regardless of whether they host the final or not.

“Playing Guyana as the first leg is almost a wasted dart, because everyone remembers the end of a tournament, we have had 11 games down here, always the energy is high and the look on TV is unique, you can beat it, nowhere in the world you see crowd like this, so that is the bit for me, we always want that energy to end the tournament and that is what Guyana brings, so you are never going to see Guyana play anywhere else at the end of the tournament, just because of that energy and it’s a great way to end the tournament.”

The other teams that make up the tournament are Antigua & Barbuda Falcons, Barbados Royals, Saint Lucia Kings and Trinbago Knight Riders with home and away games for each team.