Gov't still owes for 2020 CPL

THE Government has not paid the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) in full for hosting the entire 2020 edition of the Hero CPL in Trinidad, as Minister of Sport and Community Development Shamfa Cudjoe confirmed that payments are still being processed.

On Friday, in an interview with Newsday, Cudjoe said, “From the get go we knew what the cost was going to be. However, invoices and so on have to be turned in in order for payment to go out. CPL has received some payment already and I know that there is another payment being processed right now at Ministry of Finance.”

For the first time in the eight-year history of the tournament the entire CPL was held in one country. TT was selected to host the 2020 edition from August 18 to September 10 because of its handling of the covid19 pandemic. TT was also chosen because the country has two venues of international standard – Brian Lara Cricket Academy and Queen’s Park Oval.

The tournament is normally played throughout the region, but to reduce the spread of the virus TT was selected as the host.

Cudjoe said TT’s investment is usually US $1 million when it was confirmed that TT would host the 2020 CPL last July.

Half is paid in cash and the other half, in kind, through services offered to CPL and to ensure the league runs smoothly.

In recent years, TT has had an issue with foreign exchange.

A CPL media release on February 25 explained how TT benefitted from the tournament.

The release said, “During the 2020 Hero CPL the T20 tournament partnered with Tourism Trinidad Limited to showcase Trinidad as a preferred destination of choice in the Caribbean; generating a sponsorship value of US $51.5 million. Tourism Trinidad had extensive destination branding at both the Queen’s Park Oval and the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba where matches took place including team branding, in-stadium branding, and in-country fan zones. Bespoke TV and Digital content featured the many beautiful and diverse sites and attractions in Trinidad.”

The release added, “With Hero CPL taking place behind closed doors in TT there was even more focus than ever before from TV broadcast and social media channels. The tournament duly delivered record viewership of 523 million - an increase of 67 per cent on 2019.”

In 2018, a three-year agreement was made by Government and CPL to host seven matches annually in Trinidad from 2018 to 2020. Those matches initially included five preliminary matches, one semi-final and the final.

This year, discussions are being held to host the 2021 Hero CPL in Guyana and Barbados once the players and officials are allowed to travel through the Caribbean. Due to the pandemic people are not allowed to travel freely throughout the region.