Kris Persaud

The Kris Persaud-owned Antigua and Barbuda Falcons were earlier this year announced as the latest addition to the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), replacing Jamaica Tallawahs for the upcoming edition of the T20 tournament, which gets under way later this month.

“We are also making a pitch as well, the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons, to have our own women’s team next year, 2025, and also to host the Women’s Premier League right here in Antigua and Barbuda. So, it’s not just about the men but a combination of making sure that others benefit, and, like Sir Viv [Richards] said, everybody has to come on board,” Springer said. 

The women’s Caribbean Premier League, which started in 2022, has only fielded three teams—Barbados Royals, Guyana Amazon Warriors, and Trinbago Knight Riders—over the years. As such, the addition of a Falcons women’s outfit would be a welcome addition to the tournament.

On that note, Springer added that there will be opportunities for players in general to benefit from the franchise being based in Antigua and Barbuda.

“The Leeward Islands Hurricanes will be in Antigua and Barbuda. In fact, they will start training here to prepare for the Super50. So that is a next opportunity for young players in Antigua and Barbuda and around the region to make sure that we now have the Leeward Islands Hurricanes franchise, the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons, and you have Cricket West Indies headquarters, which is based here,” Springer reasoned.

This year’s 12th edition of the CPL is scheduled to begin on August 29, with Antigua and Barbuda Falcons taking on St. Kitts Nevis Patriots at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium. They will then face reigning champions Guyana Amazon Warriors a day later, also at the North Sound venue. Both matches will start at 7:00 pm.

The Falcons will then face Barbados Royals on September 30 at the same venue, starting at 10:00 am, before crossing swords with St. Lucia Kings on September 3 at 7:00 pm, also at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

Her response in a statement on Thursday, follows widespread condemnation about the Government's lack of support for the Tallawahs, which inevitably resulted in owner Kris Persaud moving the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Twenty20 franchise from Jamaica to Antigua and Barbuda.

Grange pointed out that the ministry provided special support to the Tallawahs at the level that funds would permit, as they forwarded cash, and paid for coordinated services across the Government of Jamaica to facilitate the franchise. She added that the ministry’s Sports Division and the Sports Development Foundation provided direct cash payments of J$13 million to Jamaica Tallawahs, including the purchase of tickets for matches, between 2015 and 2019. 

The minister said the government incurred significant direct costs as it worked to facilitate the Tallawahs, as she revealed that the Sports Development Foundation undertook the cost for the importation of goods and equipment needed for use during cricket matches.

Additionally, Grange argued that her ministry also undertook the cost for various licenses and fees including for television broadcasts, as well as, negotiated with the Jamaica Urban Transit Company to provide transport service to the Tallawahs, and with the Jamaica Tourist Board to market the team.

Grange stated that she also successfully participated in discussions with private sector companies about sponsorship for the team.

“We did our best to give support to the Tallawahs. The Tallawahs bear our country’s name, but are not a national team, and are therefore not covered in the yearly allocations to the Jamaica Cricket Association. However, we have sought to provide special support to the Tallawahs at the level that our funds will permit," the minister said in her statement.

Grange explained that it was difficult for the Government to go beyond its reach, citing that the Sports Development Foundation provided J$263 million in grants to all national sports federations in 2023.

“It is estimated that the Tallawahs require US$1 million each year—or more than J$150 million; but in order to give them more, we would have to cut funding to the more than 40 National Sports Federations, such as football, netball, track and field, who depend on government to run their programmes and have been requesting additional sums — which we are challenged to provide," she noted.

On another note, Grange attended the handing over ceremony of 90 cricket kits from the Government of India to the Jamaica Cricket Association.

The handing over ceremony took place at the High Commission of India and represented the remainder of the 100 cricket kits promised to Jamaica by the Indian President, His Excellency Ram Nath Kovind, during his visit to the island in 2022. The President had presented 10 kits during that initial visit.

Grange expressed gratitude to the High Commissioner, His Excellency Masakui Rungsung, and the Indian government for the gear “which will benefit young cricketers across the country.”

“This is one of the initiatives on which the High Commissioner and I have been working together as representatives of our respective governments in the interest of cricket. We are also discussing a major project, about which I believe we will soon be in a position to update our respective stakeholders about," Grange said.

Finally, she challenged the notion that the government was anti-cricket, pointing out that the Jamaica Cricket Association receives more funding each year from the Sports Development Foundation than all other national federations except football and track and field.

This defence also came, as the government was also criticisied for missing out on a bid to host games during the ICC Twenty20 World Cup to be hosted in the Caribbean and United States later this year. Jamaica and West Indies captain Rovman Powell and all-rounder Andre Russell rencently expressed concern about the development and, by extension, the lack of international cricket being played locally.