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ICC to confirm hosts for four major women’s global events at annual conference

ICC to confirm hosts for four major women's global events at annual conference
The ICC will confirm the hosts for four marquee women’s global events in the 2023-27 period during their annual conference starting in Birmingham this weekend. The four tournaments feature two T20 World Cups, one 50-over World Cup and one T20 Champions Trophy, which were part of the half a dozen events the ICC recently finalised as part of the women’s rights, which for the first time will be sold separately from men’s rights.

The host venues for the women’s events will be finalised by a working group comprising ICC directors who will arrive at a shortlist from the bids received. ESPNcricinfo has learned that ICC has received 16 proposals from seven countries for the four events.

Based on the recommendations of the working group – comprising former New Zealand fast bowler Martin Snedden who is also chairman of New Zealand Cricket, former India captain and current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, Cricket West Indies’ president Ricky Skerritt and former England women’s captain Clare Connor who is also the acting ECB CEO – the ICC will take the final call at the meeting on July 26. The annual conference will begin with the Chief Executives Committee (CEC) meeting on July 24 followed by the Finance & Commercial Affairs committee meeting on July 25, and will end with the annual general meeting which follows the board meeting.

Unlike in the previous cycles when women’s rights were sold as part of the consolidated rights package, the ICC has decided to unbundle the rights for men’s and women’s events and sell them in different territories separately. There are a total of 103 matches across the six women’s events with the rights being sold for three packages – TV, digital, TV and digital combined – for four years. The aim was to maximise the financial returns, and, as part of the new plan the ICC has also decided to sell the TV and digital rights separately. Accordingly, a rights tender for men’s events for the Indian market, the most lucrative territory, went on sale recently with successful bids to be announced in early September.

T20 Leagues vs international cricket

One of the key discussions the CEC could potentially discuss involves the primacy of international cricket and whether it is under threat from the growing number of domestic T20 leagues. In the near-completed version of the ICC’s next cycle of FTP (2023-27), the IPL has got an extended two-and-a-half-month window and Hundred and BBL also have home-season windows.
While ICC has no direct role to play considering it is the member countries that decide on both the bilateral series as well as T20 league windows, at least one Full Member has expressed concern in public over the international calendar being encroached on by the franchise-based tournaments. Recently the PCB wrote a letter to ICC saying it was a “little concerned that the proliferation of domestic leagues around the world is sucking time out of the international calendar” and requested a working group to be formed to address the issue.

ICC also likely to discuss Afghanistan’s future

Another important discussion the ICC is likely to take up is the future of Afghanistan cricket. Last year, after the Taliban took charge of Afghanistan, the board formed a working group to observe and review cricket in the war-torn country. A key part of the working group’s brief was to understand whether the women’s cricket was indeed in “peril” as former Afghanistan Cricket Board Hamid Shinwari told ESPNcricinfo last year.
Doubts over Afghanistan’s future in international cricket emerged last September, when the deputy head of Taliban’s cultural commission Ahmadullah Wasiq, told SBS News that it wasn’t “necessary” for women to play cricket because “they might face a situation where their face and body will not be covered.” Cricket Australia even postponed the Test match against Afghanistan, which was scheduled for Hobart last November, following the stance.
Afghanistan became a Full Member of the ICC in 2017 despite not having a national women’s team. team. At the time ICC had made the exemption subject to ACB investing in the development of women’s sport. In November 2020 the ACB had pledged to offer 25 women’s players contracts with aim of developing their game, but Tailban’s arrival halted all the progress.

The ICC working group on Afghanistan is chaired by Imran Khwaja, Ross McCollum, Lawson Naidoo and Ramiz Raja, and the panel is set to update the board.

The conference agenda also includes finalising the process for the ICC chairman election, which is likely to take place in November when the current chair Greg Barclay’s first term ends. Apart from this, the members are also set to iron out FTP further, and a final version is expected only post the annual conference.

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Asia Tax Bulletin – Summer 2022 | Perspectives & Events | Mayer Brown

Asia Tax Bulletin – Summer 2022 | Perspectives & Events | Mayer Brown

The times are changing. Due to pressure from the European Union, Hong Kong has issued the framework of how it proposes to change its long-cherished offshore taxation rules applicable to passive investment income. Hong Kong proposes to tax offshore investment income unless the Hong Kong company receiving the income meets certain economic substance rules or if the income is not received in Hong Kong. At the same time, Hong Kong will introduce a participation exemption rule for foreign dividends and gains earned by Hong Kong companies, based on which these foreign dividends and gains would not be taxable in Hong Kong if they meet the pertinent conditions. You will read more about that in this edition of the Asia Tax Bulletin. 

Further, China and Hong Kong have ratified the Multilateral Treaty and therefore certain of their tax treaties will now be subject to the anti-avoidance test contained in the Multilateral Treaty. This may have consequences for investments in Japan held by Hong Kong holding companies, which henceforth may be challenged if one of the main purposes of the structure is to benefit from the tax treaty. 

Hong Kong proposes to introduce tax exemptions for qualifying family offices and at the same time Singapore is tightening the tax exemption conditions for family offices if they are not managed by a CMS-licensed fund manager. Finally, a point worth mentioning is that Malaysia has introduced tax exemptions for qualifying venture capital companies, which adds Malaysia to the short list of jurisdictions besides Singapore and Hong Kong who promote their jurisdiction for venture capital activities in Asia. 

These and other news items are discussed in this edition of the Bulletin. 

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City of Nanaimo offers free shuttle buses for Canada Day, three other summer events – Nanaimo News Bulletin

City of Nanaimo offers free shuttle buses for Canada Day, three other summer events - Nanaimo News Bulletin

Free shuttle bus service will be offered during four popular events in Nanaimo this summer.

At a Regional District of Nanaimo board meeting Tuesday, June 14, directors approved a City of Nanaimo request for use of two RDN Transit buses for Canada Day, Dragon Boat and Marine festivals and Vancouver Island Exhibition. Shuttle service would run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during one day of each event, according to an RDN staff report.

Jamie Rose, city manager of transportation, told the News Bulletin the actual days are still being determined. The plan is to have bus exchanges at Woodgrove Centre and Vancouver Island University as starting points for the direct service, but the city is still awaiting confirmation.

At a May 30 city council meeting, Lainy Stevenson, city active transportation project specialist, told council members that bike valet and secure bike parking will also be part of the service, with spots for 100 bikes initially.

“We’re going to start with Canada Day,” Stevenson said at the May 30 meeting. “This is the first time we’re doing this; we really don’t know how it’s going to go. Of course, we hope that all 100 spots are going to be used and events from there will be able add more capacity.”

The city will pay a maximum of $3,000 per day, with $20,000 of its alternative transportation education and marketing and ‘Healthamongus’ budgets, a May 30 city staff report stated.

The Silly Boat Regatta and Truth and Reconciliation Day were other days that were mentioned when service could be provided and Rose said the city would “wait and see” if it can provide the shuttle service to those events.

“This is another example of the city as a whole working together to find ways to support events and create opportunities for people to get out and have fun and given even more options to not use your car,” said Rose.


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City organizing group rides as part of Spring GoByBike Week in Nanaimo – Nanaimo News Bulletin

City organizing group rides as part of Spring GoByBike Week in Nanaimo - Nanaimo News Bulletin

The City of Nanaimo is encouraging people to go by bike for a week in an effort to get people out of their cars.

Spring GoByBike happens May 30-June 5 when Nanaimo’s cyclists can get in the saddle to reduce emissions, save on fuel costs and win prizes by participating in events and visiting celebration stations, noted a city press release.

Cyclists are encouraged to make the most of this year’s commuter challenge by registering online for Spring GoByBike where they can record all the kilometres they ride throughout the week for a chance to win prizes that include an adult bike and a kids bike, donated by Canadian Tire. Registration is free at http://gobybikebc.ca/nanaimo.

In Nanaimo, celebration stations hosted by sponsors will be set up at various locations, so riders might want to plan their routes to stop by and enter to win prizes. An updated digital cycling map will be available soon to assist with route planning.

Numerous biking events are planned, too, with a kickoff event May 29, a downtown heritage bike tour on May 31, a clean-up ride June 4, a “Nanaimo (Handle) Bar Ride” June 4 and a commuter challenge wrap-up event June 11.

Cyclists who don’t want to attend events can still participate virtually. The City of Nanaimo has joined bike tag, a game started by the cycling community that is now played all over the world. Bike tag is a photo tag game played on bicycles where riders find and create fun mystery locations around Nanaimo.

“Grease the chains, don your reflective vests and GoByBike Nanaimo,” said Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog in the press release. “This B.C.-wide event celebrates active and fun ways to get around and is for everyone, at every level.”


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