[UPDATED] CEO Pete Russell: Trinidad and Tobago likely co-hosts of Hero CPL 2022

ST LUCIA and St Kitts and Nevis will co-host the Hero Caribbean Premier Leagues (CPL) 2022 tournament later this year, while local franchise Trinbago Knight Riders stands a significant chance of joining them.

This was revealed by CPL CEO Pete Russell, speaking at Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain, on Monday, during a short function to hand over a donation of $135,000 to The Shelter for Battered Women and Children.

The tenth edition of the tournament will start at the end of August and finish late September, with the exact dates to be confirmed.

“(The chances are) quite high,” Russell told Newsday. “We always like playing in Trinidad because the fans are the best in the region. We just got to make sure it works for all stakeholders. We’re working with the government to make sure it works for them. Hopefully we can put on the games here successfully and safely. Of course, Trinidad is a big part of CPL, so we want it to be part (hosts).”

Russell said the plan is to host the tournament “in a maximum of four countries.

“We’re trying to put the jigsaw together.

“We can confirm that St Kitts and St Lucia will definitely be hosting,” said Russell. “We’re just trying to work out where the other host countries might be.”

The first seven editions of the tournament, from 2013-2019, were hosted by multiple nations, before the covid19 pandemic forced CPL to host scaled-down versions in TT and St Kitts and Nevis in 2020 and 2021, respectively, with limited to no fans permitted inside the venues.

At present, venues considered “safe zones” by the government are permitted to entertain crowds at 50 per cent capacity. Organisers say they hope and expect to welcome fans to the venues following two years of scaled-down versions of the tournament.

Speaking on the franchises, he said the CPL is “very comfortable with the ownership group.”

The placement of players will also be determined in the next few weeks.

Russell addressed the CPL’s profitability, saying while the pandemic hasn’t helped in terms of gate receipts, there has been substantial global exposure.

“Pandemics don’t help. The fact that we haven’t had any crowds obviously has been a huge problem for us. But we’re very lucky we’ve got (franchise) owners who are looking at the long-term.”

Last month, Inside Sport reported that the CPL crossed a 500 million viewership mark for the second consecutive season in 2021, thanks to its largest fan base in India, with the Caribbean following “closely behind.”

This story has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

ST LUCIA and St Kitts and the Grenadines will co-host the Hero Caribbean Premier Leagues (CPL) 2022 tournament later this year, while this country's franchise Trinbago Knight Riders stands a good chance of joining them.

This was revealed by CPL CEO Pete Russell, speaking at Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain, on Monday, during a short function to hand over a donation of $135,000 to The Shelter for Battered Women and Children.

The tenth edition of the tournament will start at the end of August.

"(The chances are) quite high," Russell told Newsday. "We always like playing in Trinidad because the fans are the best in the region. We just got to make sure it works for all stakeholders. We're working with the government to make sure it works for them. Hopefully, we can put on the games here successfully and safely. Of course, Trinidad is a big part of CPL, so we want it to be part (hosts)."

The first seven editions of the tournament, from 2013-2019, were hosted by multiple nations before the covid19 pandemic forced CPL to host scaled-down versions in TT and St Kitts and Nevis in 2020 and 2021, respectively, with limited to no spectators permitted inside the venues.