By Avenash Ramzan
St. Lucia and St. Kitts and Nevis have been confirmed as hosts of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2022, but there is still a significant chance Guyana will also host games this year.
According to Chief Executive Officer, Pete Russell, CPL is aiming to have four host nations for the 10th edition of the tournament, set to bowl-off in August and end in September.
In an exclusive interview with News Room Sport on Wednesday in Georgetown, Russell indicated that he is due to have discussions with key stakeholders in Guyana over the next few days, with the likelihood of Guyana being a host venue.
“We know that Guyana is a fantastic venue and the one thing we’re keen to do this year is to get the crowds back. That’s very important to us because the CPL brand relies on that, so we’re very hopeful we can do some good stuff down here,” Russell declared.
“If we could get back to Providence, have full houses again and that buzzing atmosphere we know that works so well- and a winning Guyana team- I think it would be fantastic.”
Russell pointed out that discussions are ongoing with governments across the region to finalise those last two host nations, and an announcement would be made in due course.
“We’re looking to find a finals partner obviously and then one other partner to host the league games, so we hope to have that all tied in the next month,” Russell said.
The plan, at this point, is to have fans return for the games once it is safe to do so, Russell highlighted.
The tournament in 2020 was held behind closed doors in Trinidad, while in St. Kitts and Nevis in 2021, full vaccinated fans were allowed at 50% capacity.
Huge economic impact
Meanwhile, in 2021, the Hero CPL delivered outstanding exposure to Guyana with a total sponsorship value of US$48.5 million, CPL announced on Wednesday.
This figure was generated from a report from an independent and world-leading research company, YouGov Sport.
“The tournament took place in St Kitts and Nevis between August 26 and September 15 and with over half a billion views across the event there was fantastic exposure for the partner tourist boards across the Caribbean,” CPL said.
“The total viewership figure for 2021 was 517.4 million, with the tournament passing half a billion viewers for the second successive year. This massive TV and digital viewership was the driver behind these fantastic sponsorship valuations.”
While the tournament did not take place in Guyana, CPL said great efforts were made to ensure that the country was showcased to a massive global audience, with team and stadium branding as well as tourism vignettes and features within the broadcast.
Russell said: “Guyana has played such a huge role in Hero CPL over the years, and we have missed visiting this beautiful country over the last two seasons. However, it is very pleasing that we have been able to work with the Guyana Tourism Authority and the Guyana Amazon Warriors franchise to deliver these great sponsorship numbers.”
