ICC MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dubai, 11 December 2007
ICC statement
following its acceptance as a federation recognised by the
International Olympic Committee
The International Cricket Council has
welcomed the decision by the International Olympic Committee’s
Executive Board to return cricket into the Olympic Movement after a
gap of more than 100 years.
The IOC’s decision to recognise the
ICC and cricket for the first time since the sport featured in the
1900 Paris Olympiad will lead to closer collaboration between the
ICC and IOC for the good of sport. It is also expected to enhance
cricket’s profile in territories where it is a developing sport.
“This is great news for cricket,” said
ICC President Ray Mali. “The Olympic Movement is instantly
recognisable around the world and for cricket to be a part of that
again has to be a good thing.
“The ICC and IOC share similar values,
such as a spirit of fair play in a competitive but ultimately
friendly environment. Cricket – like all sports – should be played
hard but fair and I think the special atmosphere that surrounds the
Olympic Games demonstrates all that is good about sport,” said Mr
Mali.
Mr Mali who, along with ICC Directors
David Morgan and HRH Tunku Imran, met with IOC President Jacques
Rogge in Lausanne in October this year added that IOC recognition
had been part of the ICC’s current Strategic Plan.
He said: “Our goal has been to become
an international federation that is recognised by the IOC and we are
pleased to have achieved this target. We want to play an active role
in the Olympic Movement and we will be looking at ways in which we
can work with the IOC for the benefit of cricket, sport and society
in general.
“Cricket last featured in the Olympic
Games in 1900. Maybe one day it will be right for cricket to return
to the Olympic programme,” he added.
As well as approving the ICC’s
application for IOC recognition at its meeting in Lausanne, the IOC
Executive Board will also receive a presentation from Lord Condon,
the Chairman of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, on
issues relating to betting in sport.