T20 World Cup bill to beef up security, curb scalping

ATTORNEY General Reginald Armour SC in the Senate on April 30 said he wants a bill concerning the 2024 T20 International Cricket Council World Cup to be passed to ensure the tournament is run smoothly, which will include security measures and steps to prevent illegal vending.

The World Cup will be staged by the West Indies and the US from June 1-29. The Caribbean host countries are Antigua and Barbuda, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Guyana and TT. Armour said on June 16, 2023, the Cabinet agreed to approve the submission of a bid to host matches in the 2024 T20 World Cup.

On September 19, 2023, it was agreed that TT would host matches.

“We have been coordinating around the clock to meet certain deadlines agreed upon by the Caricom host countries and the ICC,” Armour said.

He said that primary and subsidiary legislation for the World Cup is being coordinated with the other host countries.

“The fact that all six Caricom host countries are attempting to pass their Omnibus Sunset Legislation around the same time to ensure the legislative harmony that we are striving for.”

Armour asked everyone in the Senate to accept the bill. “I therefore urge for the love of cricket, lovely cricket, on both sides, that we give this bill the easy passage that it deserves.”

The last cricket tournament held of this magnitude in the Caribbean was in 2007 when the ICC 50-Over World Cup was staged. As a result, the 2007 World Cup will be used as a guide for the 2024 tournament.

“The first special meeting agreed that the host countries can utilise legislation used during the previous Cricket World Cup 2007 as useful precedence to be re-enacted for CWC 2024,” Armour said.

Health and safety will be a priority in hosting the World Cup. “Another deliverable is the proximity to medical facilities. The four venues chosen for the matches and practice sessions are all within close proximity to private and public hospitals. Another deliverable is the safety and security. The local organising committee shall be responsible for match security and the formulation of an appropriate security plan. That committee is working hand in hand with our colleagues at the Ministry of National Security to ensure that there is appropriate security in place.”

The venues that will be used in Trinidad are Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Queen’s Park Oval, Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground at the University of the West Indies in St Augustine and Diego Martin Sporting Complex. The oval, Sir Frank Worrell and the Diego Martin ground will be used for practice matches.

Disaster management with support from the Office of Disaster and Preparedness Management is another part of the bill, along with preventing illegal vendors from selling tickets.

“Clause Six of the bill makes provision for the sale and distribution for tickets for the CWC 2024 by persons solely authorised by CWI. Persons who seek to engage in illegal transactions...without doing proper authorisation shall be subject to penalties contained in the bill. These persons are otherwise known as scalpers. There is a need to control scalpers which is accounted for under the bill.”

Opposition senator Anil Roberts, who thanked Armour for apologising for the lateness of the documents to pass the bill, is concerned that a bill similar to 2007 is being used as a guide because the world has changed in the past 17 years.