The Caribbean Premier League this week released the official fixtures for the 2018 tournament, with the proposed Guyana Amazon Warriors home games slated for a venue to be confirmed.
That announcement has agitated local fans, many of whom are now worried that Guyana might lose out on hosting games this year.
Commenting on the issue on Thursday, Sport Minister Dr. George Norton said, “No agreement has been signed. In previous years, they would have been behind us to get it signed, this year we saw no document; nothing came to our office.”
Since the inception of the tournament in 2013, the signing agreement has been an annual feature. It provides for the use of the home facility for training and hosting matches.
Last year, the agreement was made public on July 13 by Nicolette Henry, the then Minister of Sport, Guyana Amazon Warriors’ Operation Manager Omar Khan, Permanent Secretary Melissa Tucker and Stadium Manager Anthony Xavier.
Dr. Norton added that he wants the agreement to be signed soonest. “I would like it to be done as early as possible. It is not the first time we are having CPL, they would be quite familiar to how it is done, to the contrary, I have not been when it was done before.”
The Minister further emphasised they are not opposed to forging the partnership since the annual tournament has been warmly welcomed by Guyanese.
“The sell-out crowds we have speaks for itself, it is popular and persons would be looking forward to cricket.”
He added, “Let me take this opportunity to say, I have learnt from news agencies about Bangladesh tour [in July], but officially we have no record or have not signed anything of that nature and I am in the process of finding out more about the status of this.”
News Room tried contacting CPL’s Head of Public Relations, Peter Miller, for a comment on the issue, calls to his phone went unanswered.
See CPL fixtures here: http://newsroom.gy/2018/06/05/cpl-2018-fixtures-released-some-venues-still-to-be-confirmed/
