The defending league champion Comilla Victorians have threatened to withdraw from the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) if money from the upcoming season is not shared, throwing the tournament into disarray ahead of its tenth edition. Notably, the inaugural match of BPL 2024 between Dhaka Dominators and Comilla Victorians is scheduled for Friday, January 19.
But Comilla Victorians owner Nafisa Kamal said before the season began that the team would not be able to survive under the BPL governing council’s existing arrangement.
In 2019, Nafisa stated that he wanted to implement the revenue-sharing model; but, after four years, nothing has changed. In 2022, the BPL governing council declared that they were not interested in income sharing with franchises.
“Yes, without a doubt. If the revenue is not split, I’m not staying in the BPL. Victorians want a piece of “ticket rights, ground rights, and media rights,” according to a remark from Nafisa that appeared on Cricbuzz.
“Despite having such a large population, we still trail behind in broadcasting even though we founded BPL a long time ago. If we owned half the ticketing rights, not a single ticket would go unsold. “Neither the media nor the ground rights are granted to us by BCB,” the speaker continued.
Nafisa went on to say that they would agree even if they were given the smallest possible share, but they asked the authorities to take the initiative.
She stated, “Let the structure start and let us take the first step. We will be very flexible in this regard (revenue sharing) and we are willing to give what is good for them. If they give the lowest even, that is all right.”
She also criticized the governing council for holding its first franchise meeting in a very long period.
I requested that they meet in person and have a meeting, but that didn’t happen: Nafisa Kamal
“I can’t recall the last time they were seated with us. I just instructed them to arrange a meeting and have a face-to-face discussion this year, but that didn’t happen. I desired to meet with someone. “Last year, following our victory, I expressed my desire for a meeting during the press conference,” she continued.
Following the departure of BCB president Nazmul Hasan, Nafisa also declared her intention to join the board, but she clarified that she is not currently considering accepting the position.
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