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ICC welcomes Mongolia and Tajikistan as new Members

ICC welcomes Mongolia and Tajikistan as new Members
July 19, 2021
Sport /

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has welcomed its newest member countries, Mongolia and Tajikistan, along with Switzerland, at its 78th Annual General Meeting.

Conducted virtually on Sunday (18th July), the meeting welcomed Mongolia and Tajikistan as the 22nd and 23rd Members of the Asia region, while Switzerland became Europe’s 35th Member.

As a result, the ICC now comprising 106 members in total, including 94 associates.

Established in 2007, the Mongolian Cricket Association (MCA) became the official national administrator of the sport in 2018. There is a growing junior cricket structure in place primarily through school cricket with a coaching program ongoing in 16 schools - and the sport was officially accepted into the National Youth Games in 2019.

Women’s cricket is also apriority for Mongolia with females accounting for 39% of all participants playing school cricket. In addition, Mongolia is due to host the International Youth Green Games in September 2021 where cricket has been selected as one of the participating sports.

Welcoming the nation’s acceptance into the ICC, MCA President, Battulga Gombo stated “joining the ICC is fundamental in the establishment of a coherent structure for cricket in Mongolia.

“I am happy to see this noble game helping the young people here, contributing valuable experiences and giving them skills and ethics that they can take into other areas of their lives. The MCA’s focus will continue to be the Schools’ Outreach Program both in Ulaanbaatar and in the provinces, on inter-school competition and inter-province competition in the National Youth Games. We see this as the best way to sow the seed of cricket so that the sport becomes part of Mongolian life.”

The Tajikistan Cricket Federation was officially formed in 2011 with the support of the Ministry of Sports and Olympic Committee that has led the development of infrastructure and the building of a domestic cricket structure a focusing on women and junior cricket. This significant work has so far accomplished 22 men’s teams and 15 women’s teams across four affiliated member associations.

Tajikistan Cricket Federation President, Najibullohi Ruzi commented “the Tajikistan Cricket Federation is delighted to be accepted as an Associate Member of the ICC, having fulfilled all the membership requirements and we are very confident that we can successfully grow cricket in Tajikistan.

“This is a great incentive for us to focus on further accelerating the development work on our existing facilities, increase our capabilities in the areas of coaching and umpiring. The other areas on our priority list are high-performance programs for juniors and seniors’ both men and women”.

Welcoming the expansion, ICC General Manager - Development, William Glenwright added “we are delighted to be welcoming three new Members into the ICC family, which reflects the growth and potential of the global game.

“All three applications demonstrated an impressive commitment to growing the game - particularly amongst women and youth - and we look forward to assisting them in achieving their potential.

“As cricket activity begins to emerge from the pandemic, we are at an exciting stage of cricket’s growth with ambitious plans and projects to deliver in partnership with our members to not only navigate the impact of COVID-19 but to also help achieve transformative growth for the sport globally.”

Image of cricket in Mongolia courtesy of Emerging Cricket.

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