CATEGORY:SPORTS (CRICKET)
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By Wallace J.A, Inside Grenada correspondent
Sunday October 22, 2006


GRENEDA – “If they play politics with this one, we could end up losing the games and all that investment that people have made.” These were the words of Mr. Chris Dehring, CEO and Managing Director of the World Cup, while speaking at a forum in Jamaica on Thursday last. This stark reminder (to the region’s politicians) from Mr. Dehring would have undoubtedly sent icy chills down the spines of some Caribbean leaders, businessmen and cricket enthusiasts.

Caribbean countries that were selected to host games in the 2007 Cricket World Cup (CWC) have been working extremely hard over the past two or so years to put structures in place that would enable them to successfully host these matches. The emphasis in these countries seemed to have been on the creation of the appropriate physical infrastructure, like the building of stadia, roads, bridges, hotels and so on.

According to Chris Dehring, however, the nine countries selected to host world cup games are expected to approve the necessary legislation needed to allow the world cup to take place in the Caribbean. This legislation, known as the “Sunset Legislation” is expected to be passed in all the host countries by the first week in November. The problem here seems to be that so far, only two countries have done so – Barbados and St. Kitts.

The package of laws comprising the Sunset Legislation will address a number of critical areas like tourist visas, sale of tickets, broadcast of the tournament, security and copyright issues. These laws are not permanent and are scheduled to last for only six-months, after which they will automatically expire (hence the reason why they are called the Sunset Legislation).

The Guyanese Government has suggested that they intend to approve the laws by October 30 while the St. Lucian Government has expressed their intent to do so by October 24. The other countries expected to approve the Sunset Legislation are Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Jamaica, Trinidad and St. Vincent. Countries that fail to meet the deadline established by the ICC will risk loosing their matches to standby islands such as Bermuda.

Grenada’s Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Mitchell, stated that Grenada has the structure in place to ensure that the legislation is passed through Parliament in advance of the ICC’s deadline. He encouraged other countries in the region to ensure that they pass the legislation on time because it would be a shame to have done all the infrastructural work and then lose the chance to host cricket matches in the biggest sporting jamboree to be held in the region – Cricket World Cup, 2007.

The CWC 2007 tournament will commence on March 11 and end on April 28. Approximately 100,000 cricket fans from all over the world will converge in the region next year for this historic occasion.