By Marlon Munroe
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) yesterday responded to an article in Friday’s Trinidad Guardian which stated that the WICB was seeking a percentage of the money Guyana will receive for participating in the upcoming Airtel Champions League tournament in South Africa next month.

In the article headlined: “WICB wants Guyana’s money” it was stated that “the Guyana Cricket Board had some issues with the monetary allocation and this is what delayed the signing of the participation contracts.”

“Guyana stands to gain US$500,000 as an entry fee to the tournament and of this the WICB wants 33 percent (US$165,000) with the GCB getting 17 per cent (US)$85,000 and the players getting 50 per cent (US$250,000),” the Trinidad Guardian reported adding that this development did not sit too well with the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB).

But the WICB, in its statement yesterday, said that it is the WICB and not the GCB  which will be paid  a Participation Fee by the Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) of US$500 000.

“This Participation Fee is for the WICB to nominate a team from the West Indies to participate in the Airtel Champions League, “the WICB stated in the release.

“The WICB incurred costs of just over US$2million in staging the recently concluded Caribbean Twenty20 2010 Tournament”, the WICB added.

“Having borne such a significant cost to stage the Caribbean Twenty20 2010 Tournament – from which the winner was nominated to participate in the Airtel Champions League – the WICB has decided to retain one third of the US$500,000 to help in offsetting costs for hosting the Caribbean Twenty20 2010 Tournament,” the release stated.

“The WICB will give the remaining two thirds to the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) as a result of the Guyana team emerging winner of the Caribbean Twenty20 2010 Tournament and being nominated to represent the West Indies in the Airtel Champions League,” stated the release.

According to the statement it will be for the GCB and the Guyana Twenty20 team to decide how the two thirds of the Participation Fee will be divided.

President of the GCB Chetram Singh yesterday, speaking of the Trinidad Guardian article told Stabroek Sport…“the article and its claims have nothing to do with Guyana and the players have already signed their contracts.”

Singh added that as far as he knew the Guyana players have committed themselves to the tournament and Guyana will remain the West Indies’ representative in South Africa.

While Singh was non-committal as to whether he was satisfied with the request of the WICB, this newspaper understands that the executive of the GCB held a meeting to discuss the request of the regional governing body.

The Trinidad Guardian had also reported that the GCB had contacted the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) and a draft contract was sent to Guyana to sign off on but this was not done.

That contract would have seen the players and the respective board sharing the participation fee 50-50 and whatever prize monies that would have been garnered from the tournament the players would have gotten the larger share.

The WICB in its statement said…”The WICB understands that the actual issues in dispute regard the request by WIPA to engage in negotiations with the GCB with WIPA as agents for the players on matters pertaining to the sharing of the GCB’s share of the participation Fee and prize monies and with WUPA as agent for West Indies Player management Company Limited (WIPMACOL) on matters pertaining to players’ image rights.”
But the WICB release stated that “Neither the WICB nor the GCB can negotiate use of players’ image rights for the Airtel Champions League.  This is the exclusive purview of the CLT20. Any players’ image rights negotiations WIPA as agent for WIPMACOL wishes to engage in on behalf of the Guyana players must be done directly with CLT20.

“The WICB wishes to make it clear that with regard to the Airtel Champions League it has no involvement where the exploitation of players’ image rights is concerned. Further the CLT20 has clearly indicated that issues relating to exploitation of players’ image rights are not for WICB or GCB”.

The WICB said it could not negotiate with WIPA on any issue pertaining to Guyana’s participation in the upcoming Airtel Champions League simply because the team participating is not the West Indies cricket team.

The WICB stated that prize monies earned by the Guyana team at the Champions League tournament will be paid directly to the GCB by CLT20 and that the WICB “has no part in this.”