ICC looks to the future with Funding & Scheduling Policy Committee

The ink may be barely dry on the new six-year Future Tours Program (FTP) but already the ICC is looking forward, with the setting up of a Funding and Scheduling Policy Committee (FSPC) to examine the structure of the international program beyond 2012.

ICC President Ehsan Mani said: "Although the new six-year FTP that began in May provides an excellent framework for international cricket, there is no point in just sitting back and not thinking of the future beyond its duration.

"This committee will examine possible structures and funding models for an international program beyond 2012 which we hope will continue to provide value and certainty to all cricket's stakeholders in a way that never happened before the first FTP was introduced in 2001."

The make-up of the FSPC, together with its terms of reference, will be ratified at the July meeting of the ICC Executive Board, held on 5 July at Lord's in London.

It is expected the committee, which was agreed to at the March 2006 Executive Board meeting in Dubai, will focus on two areas:

• A review of the funding policy that underpins the FTP

• A review of how matches between Members are scheduled

The current funding policy is that each Member receives all income from its home series while meeting the costs of the visiting side, excluding international airfares and player fees.

The committee will assess this model and examine possible alternatives, including those used in other sports, and make a recommendation on future policy.

It will also look at possible alternatives to the current scheduling policy, which requires each Full Member to play each other Full Member at home and away over a six year period in a minimum of two Tests and three ODIs.

The committee will canvass the views of all Full and Associate Members and may also seek external assistance before reporting back to the ICC Executive Board in November 2006.