ICC pursues direct agreements with players for mobile gaming project | CricTracker

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided not to engage the World Cricketers Association (WCA) in its targeted initiative to develop and market a mobile gaming platform. A critical component of this ambitious project involves securing players’ rights, which the ICC plans to obtain directly through its member boards rather than through the players’ union.

An important additional consideration is the inclusion of retired players who are no longer under contract with their respective boards. Iconic cricketers such as Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni, for instance, are currently outside the purview of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Any ICC-endorsed online cricket game that omits such legends would risk feeling incomplete.

“A clear direction from the April (ICC Board meeting in Harare) meeting was that all players’ rights for this project would be secured through the members. The ICC was not to contract player rights through a third party such as the World Cricketers Association,” an ICC note stated to members who attended the Annual Conference in Singapore.

The same concern applies to prominent retired players from other cricketing nations. This matter was discussed during the recent ICC meeting in Singapore, where the management requested its board to establish a dedicated working group to address such complex issues. The ICC aims to resolve all aspects of the project, including rights acquisition and player representation, before its next scheduled meeting in October.

“The aim is to have a preferred partner identified for approval at the October board meetings. (The ICC) management will be in touch with members shortly to formalise the licence of rights required for the mobile game. These agreements will need to be completed by October,” the note added.

The global gaming industry is vast, not only in terms of financial scale but also in its cultural and societal impact. Sanjog Gupta, the newly appointed CEO of the ICC, reportedly emphasised this during the Singapore meeting. The ICC anticipates significant revenue from the gaming project, which is expected to be distributed among its member boards.

“The global gaming market size was valued at USD 249.55 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to grow from USD 281.77 billion in 2023 to USD 665.77 billion by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 13.1% during the forecast period (2023-2030). Asia Pacific dominated the gaming market with a market share of 46.03% in 2022,” Fortune Business Insights reported last year.

“The online gaming industry (in the country) is estimated to double to INR 66,000 crore by 2028, with the potential to create an additional 2 to 3 lakh jobs in the next few years,” as per PwC India.

Following the Harare meeting, the ICC launched an Expression of Interest (EOI) process, which received 15 responses. These were subsequently evaluated and filtered based on the applicants’ experience in developing world-class mobile games and the financial strength of their organizations. The shortlisted entities were then issued an Invitation to Tender (ITT) document. Their responses are expected by September, after which a thorough evaluation, covering both technical and commercial criteria, will be conducted.

A&W Capital is appointed as consultant

The ICC has appointed A&W Capital as an independent consultant to assist in designing distribution and revenue generation models for the mobile gaming project. The appointment followed a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) process, which saw submissions from seven organizations, including Deloitte, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and Sports Five.

A&W Capital was ultimately selected due to its deep expertise in the Indian mobile gaming market and the broader cricket economy. With offices in Mumbai and London, the firm is expected to present its report, covering the independent valuation of the rights bundle and proposed distribution models, at the ICC Board meeting in October.

Regarding mobile game development, the ICC had earlier published an EOI document on its official website. This invited organisations to detail their relevant experience, technical capabilities, financial standing, and proposed strategies for leveraging the rights. Based on these submissions, a shortlist of qualified candidates was drawn up to receive the ITT.

“The shortlisted organisations will be requested to provide further details on the game such as what type of game they plan to make and how they plan to market and promote the game, which will form the first stage of the ITT evaluation and, if successful at the first stage, the management will then consider their commercial offer for securing the rights,” the note said.

Responses from the shortlisted organisations are expected by early September, after which the ICC will proceed to the presentation, selection, and negotiation phases with the successful candidate.

While the ICC has laid out a detailed roadmap, there is a general consensus among member boards that the project may take more than a year to complete. A key component of the plan, according to ICC management, is the establishment of a small working group to support decision-making throughout the process.

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