Countries jockey to host 2007 World Cup semis, final

The semi-finals and final of the 2007 World Cup will be staged in countries under the aegis of the West Indies Cricket Board.

Chris Dehring, the managing director of Windies World Cup 2007 Inc., has revealed the WICB has made this policy a decision and it has been incorporated into the policies and guidelines of the 2007 World Cup Master Plan.

"This means that those three important matches, as far as the WICB are concerned, must be played in three of the 14 countries who are an official part of West Indies cricket," Dehring told the monthly luncheon of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday.

Dehring, however, stressed the 2007 World Cup is not the West Indies' to do whatever the WICB wants and to any standards they choose.

"Windies World Cup 2007 has to be seen and appreciated as a global event that the West Indies has been given the privilege of hosting," he said.

"There have been various expressions of concern when mention is made of the United States, Cayman Islands, or The Bahamas as potential venues for the hosting of matches in 2007.

"But understanding that this event belongs to the International Cricket Council and, given their vision to spread the gospel of the glorious game, then the possibility that the ICC will want to have matches played in these territories is very logical."

Dehring outlined that a fundamental pillar of the WICB's Master Plan for the 2007 World Cup is to maintain a distinctive element of competition between the potential venues in the Caribbean.

"The definition of 'venue' in this case is the country or city and it is important to understand that all the facilities of the 'venue' will need to be assessed," he remarked.

"In this regard also, there will be no such thing as a traditional venue. The so-called traditional venues - Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana - will all have to submit a competitive bid like everybody else and will receive no preferential treatment."

"Countries who have invested in new facilities like Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, and Antigua & Barbuda insisted on an assurance that when it comes to the 2007 World Cup, they will be treated on an equal basis with the so-called traditional venues."

Dehring indicated that professional venue development master planners will be contracted as part of a Venue Assessment team to assist the WICB with assessing "venues" for the allocation of matches.

"In this regard, it won't matter to professional venue master planners the special mystique attached to (grounds) because these are professionals who have performed similar assessments in football World Cups and in Olympic Games," he said.

"They will assess 'venues' and stadiums objectively for the quality and quantity of physical facility which they are, and on the basis that a World Cup is being staged in the Caribbean and that suitable venues and stadiums will be required to stage a world class event."

The 2007 World Cup in the West Indies is scheduled for April to May that year.