By Paras Ramoutar, IANS
Port-of-Spain : In a bid to reverse the decline in West Indies cricket, the Board for management of the sport in the Caribbean has proposed to build a regional academy with a high performance centre costing around $20 million.
The development centre will be located at the Cave Hill Campus, Barbados and it forms part of reversing the decline in West Indies cricket, said Donald Peters, chief executive officer of West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
The move is “to develop a closer relationship with both the players and the general public throughout the Caribbean”, Peters said.
“WICB has begun negotiations for a $10m loan,” he said adding the overall plan would be $20 million over a five-year period. “But at this stage the focus is get the first instalment of $10 million.”
Peters noted that the development of the academy with the high performance centre would have up to 10 co-ordinated campuses throughout the region to deliver standardised programmes and curricula.
“We are aggressively seeking funding of $20m for the entire system for five years and are currently in negotiation with a regional corporation and the outlook (of the talks) is promising,” the WICB official said.
“Cricket provides a lucrative career for Caribbean players, and the regional media can also help define the role of cricket as a professional sport and the economic benefits to be derived by players who enter the career path of international cricket,” he said.
“WICB plans to work with regional higher education institutions to encourage them to award cricket scholarships to athletes. I am confident that other universities and colleges in the region will play their part in providing scholarships, but the media can play a significant part by encouraging our youth and our governments to make cricket a priority sport in each territory,” Peters added.