TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cricket Canada and WEIC Sports United announced today a new strategic alliance to grow cricket in Canada with a goal to make the sport a key pillar of Canada’s sport ecosystem.
A newly formed strategic alliance known as Boundaries North will lead a series of new initiatives across Canadian cricket.
Boundaries North will be working with all key cricket stakeholders in the public and private sectors to establish a healthy and economically prosperous sporting ecosystem for cricket across the country. The long-term initiative with Cricket Canada will be focused on growing cricket participation for men and women. This includes establishing a supporting infrastructure and investing in opportunities for all cricketers in Canada – grassroots, community, amateur, professional and national team programs.
Led by a passionate group of community investors and business leaders including Cricket Canada President Rashpal Bajwa, Boundaries North will immediately be focused on investing in both on-pitch success and commercial opportunities for Canada’s National Men and Women’s Team. Boundaries North will also focus on developing new amateur programs at the provincial and community levels and evaluating professional initiatives for Canadian cricketers.
“Cricket in Canada is about to see an inflection point. Boundaries North is the culmination of 18 months of partnership building and collaboration with cricket communities, investors and commercial stakeholders. Our Men’s National team has just regained their ODI status and we are actively looking at initiatives to continue the growth of our Women’s programs,” said Bajwa. “Cricket Canada’s goal is to create a pathway for the best players in the country, and for the next generation of athletes to see cricket as a true career opportunity.”
Rahul Srinivasan – CEO Boundaries North
Sports business executive Rahul Srinivasan will lead Boundaries North as CEO. Srinivasan and the Boundaries North team will focus on identifying investors, entrepreneurs and strategists to build the sport while bringing the experience, capital, resources and strategic personnel the sport needs to take it to the next level.
“This is a critical time in Canadian cricket, and it has always been a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’ the sport in Canada could take off to reach new heights both domestically and in global competitions” said Rahul Srinivasan, CEO Boundaries North. “Cricket in Canada has a number of really strong tailwinds - beginning with the overwhelming passion for the sport in communities across the country. Now, the time is right for all stakeholders to collectively identify and execute against the strategies needed for cricket to achieve its potential as a marquee Canadian sport. Boundaries North will learn from cricket supporters in Canada, invest strategically in impactful initiatives and work diligently towards our ‘North Star’ goal of growing the sport for all Canadians.”
WEIC Sports United (formerly Teams Canada) is an investment group built to reimagine, preserve and invest in Women’s, Emerging, Inclusive and Community (WEIC) Sports.
Upcoming
Passionate cricket fans are eagerly anticipating the start of the 2023 cricket season in all parts of the country. Supporters of the game in Canada have marked the 2023 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier in September (to be played in Bermuda) as a critical step for Canada to continue their journey back to qualifying ICC World Cup Events on a regular basis. In this qualification tournament, the Men’s National Team will be competing for qualification in the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, to be played in the West Indies and the United States of America.
Canada’s Men’s National Team looks to qualify for a World Cup event for the first time since 2011. Canada’s Women’s National Team are looking towards qualifying for the country’s first ever appearance at a Women’s World Cup in the coming years and qualification cycles.
Snapshot of Cricket in Canada
- There are more than 5 million Canadians who have immigrated from the strongest cricket playing nations, with immigration trends creating natural tailwinds and yearly growth
- Boundaries North expects Canadian cricket participation to grow to more than 500,000 by 2033, based on current cricket participation data collected by Cricket Canada, Government of Canada forecasts on immigration and industry research on Canadian sport
- Nationwide interest in the public and private sectors to build reliable cricket infrastructure (including world-class stadiums) and high performance programming for athletes
