England Cricket Board looking at private investments in The Hundred; IPL team owners, NFL teams in fray

The England and Wales Cricket Board(ECB) is looking to secure private investments, including from team owners of the Indian Premier League and American Football’s NFL, to boost the coffers of England’s premier domestic league, The Hundred.

The Hundred, as the name suggests in a 100-balls per side tournament, played between eight teams. The fourth edition of The Hundred starts on July 23.

The private investments aim to cement The Hundred’s position in world cricket’s calendar and also bring in more financial stability. However, the private owners who would be interested to buy teams can only buy a 49% stake in each team, with host teams retaining 51%.

The selling of stakes would also offer ECB a much-needed cash injection.

As per news reports, the ECB think-tank have already reached out to some team owners of the Indian Premier League and the NFL. However, while some IPL team owners have expressed an interest, some others have held talks in way they would be interested if they get a majority stake or complete control of a team in The Hundred. Some IPL team owners have also expressed interest in the commercial aspect of the league.

Many IPL owners have teams in the South Africa T20 league apart from the Caribbean Premier League.

While teams in The Hundred can benefit from the experience of IPL team owners, fan engagements can benefit from NFL teams. The ECB is looking at a delicate balance between the two and if everything goes well, the advent of many private players could be seen from the next edition of The Hundred in 2025.