Canadian cricket eligible for huge funding

Cricket Canada took a big leap forward on Friday when cricket became officially recognised by the government, leaving the sport eligible to potentially receive huge amounts of funding. Up until now, funding has come largely from the ICC, although the government did provide $77,000 last year.

Now the sport could receive much more but for the moment Atul Ahuja, Cricket Canada's chief executive, was delighted to have cricket recognised in the first place. "Canada has broken a psychological barrier," Ahuja said. "The amount does not matter. It is the government's recognition that matters. Cricket is now set for exponential growth our country.

"The money coming from the government will be allocated to Cricket Canada' high-performance and long-term athlete development programmes for promotion of cricket.".

The Honourable Helena Guergis, Secretary of State (Foreign Affairs and International Trade) confirmed the move. "We are proud of the association's achievements," she said, "and we look forward to supporting future initiatives." Guergis, who was speaking at the Sports Alliance Centre, Toronto, said it was "an exciting day for Cricket Canada as a national sports organisation to have the opportunity to be recognised by the federal government."

Cricket Canada is in the process of completing a strategic plan which the Ministry will then review and assess funding for the year.