The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is preparing to challenge the financial arrangements behind the Afghanistan Premier League (APL), raising questions over whether international cricket funding could be supporting a new men’s franchise tournament while Afghanistan’s women remain excluded from the sport, according to a report by Cricinfo‘s Matt Roller.
The proposed T20 competition, scheduled to begin in the United Arab Emirates on December 27, has already attracted several international players, including eight from England. However, the tournament has yet to receive approval from the International Cricket Council (ICC), and ownership arrangements for two of its five franchises remain unresolved.
ECB Chief Executive Richard Gould intends to raise the funding issue at ICC meetings in Indonesia later this week, adding a financial and governance dimension to the controversy surrounding Afghanistan’s treatment of women and girls.
ECB questions Afghanistan’s reliance on ICC funding
At the centre of the ECB’s concerns is the Afghanistan Cricket Board’s (ACB) dependence on distributions from the ICC, particularly given the limited commercial opportunities available within Afghanistan.
Explaining the financial background in an interview with _The Cricketer_ magazine, Gould said: “It does concern us because Afghanistan relies largely on ICC funding. I think they take about $14 million a year from the ICC. It constitutes probably over 80% of their income. We know that they don’t have a domestic TV market. They don’t have the ability to sell tickets.”
The concern is whether money distributed to support cricket development is being directed towards a men’s commercial competition at a time when other national boards are helping finance opportunities for displaced Afghan women cricketers.
Gould added: “I’m worried that they’re using ICC money to fund the Afghan Premier League when all of the other members are funding Afghan women’s cricket. And that doesn’t seem right to us. So, that is something that we will be working on over the next few weeks.”
The allegation has not been established as fact, and the APL’s funding arrangements have not been publicly detailed in the supplied reporting.
The ICC declined to comment on the matter. It is understood, however, that the governing body regards its existing revenue-sharing arrangements, approved in 2023, as separate from the process of authorising new franchise tournaments.
ICC approval and franchise ownership remain unresolved
The Afghanistan Premier League held its player draft before completing the ICC’s sanctioning process, leaving several important regulatory questions outstanding.
The ICC established a franchise leagues subcommittee earlier this year to review how such competitions are approved. Gould is among its members.
The approval framework covers operational safeguards, including anti-corruption procedures, anti-doping arrangements and scrutiny of franchise ownership.
Only three of the APL’s five franchises have confirmed owners. The remaining teams, identified provisionally as Paktia and Balkh during the draft, are still awaiting final ownership arrangements.
Those unresolved issues mean that the league’s planned December launch remains subject to regulatory approval, regardless of the international players already selected.
Eight English players secure APL contracts despite ECB concerns
Moeen Ali and Alex Hales are among eight English cricketers selected in the APL draft, alongside Joe Clarke, Tymal Mills, Olly Stone, Luke Wood, Tom Moores and Chris Wood.
The ECB nevertheless expects to issue No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) allowing the players to participate, provided the competition receives the necessary approval.
None of the eight holds an ECB central contract. Preventing them from taking up overseas playing opportunities could therefore expose the governing body to legal challenges concerning restrictions on their employment.
Gould has indicated that the ECB’s priority is to address the regulatory framework rather than direct criticism at individual players. The board also intends to speak with those who have signed APL contracts before the tournament begins, explaining the wider implications of their participation.
Other players have taken a different approach. Ollie Pope, Will Smeed and David Willey withdrew from consideration before the draft following criticism of potential involvement in the competition.
The league has also recruited players from several other countries, including Scotland’s George Munsey, Ireland’s Curtis Campher and Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga.
Afghan women’s cricketers challenge overseas players
The debate extends beyond tournament approval and financing to the continued exclusion of women from cricket in Afghanistan.
Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, women have effectively been prohibited from participating in organised sport, forcing numerous Afghan cricketers to leave the country.
England has consequently declined to arrange bilateral fixtures against Afghanistan, although the two countries have continued to meet in ICC tournaments.
ECB Chair Richard Thompson condemned the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls in 2025, characterising it as a system of institutionalised discrimination and exclusion.
Nahida Sapan, who captained the Afghanistan Refugee Women’s XI during its tour of England this year, has urged international players to reconsider the message their participation in the APL could send.
Speaking on the BBC’s _Stumped_ podcast, Sapan said: “I feel really disappointed that foreign players have chosen to take part in this league. Foreign players had a real opportunity to stand with millions of Afghan women and girls by choosing not to participate.”
She continued: “It may have seemed like a small action, but it could have sent a powerful message and put pressure on those responsible. This is not about being against cricket or Afghan men’s cricket. It is about standing up for basic human rights.”
Sapan also highlighted the length of time Afghan girls have been denied opportunities in sport, saying: “For five years, girls in Afghanistan have been denied the right to play cricket and many other basic rights.”
For Sapan, the issue is not opposition to Afghanistan’s male cricketers but the responsibilities of international players operating within a system that excludes women.
She said on BBC’s _Stumped_ podcast: “For me, the women and girls of Afghanistan come first. Their rights, dignity and freedom matter more than any league or sporting opportunity. Taking part in this league without acknowledging what is happening to Afghan women risks sending the message to the world that their suffering can simply be ignored.”
Women’s cricket funding remains a central issue
Afghanistan’s former women’s national team players have repeatedly sought formal ICC recognition and sustainable financial support since leaving the country.
In April 2025, the ICC joined the cricket boards of England, Australia and India in establishing a financial assistance programme for Afghan women cricketers. That support was extended in July.
The players continue to compete as the Afghanistan Refugee Women’s Team rather than an officially recognised national side, while Afghanistan retains its full ICC membership despite not maintaining a women’s national team.
Afghan cricketer Firooza Amiri has also challenged overseas players to consider how their participation might affect the broader struggle for women’s rights.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Amiri said: “To every international player considering participating in this league, I believe there is a responsibility to ask difficult questions. You have the freedom to choose where you play, which organisations you represent and which competitions you participate in, but that freedom also comes with a responsibility to understand the systems you may be helping to support. I am not asking international players to turn their backs on the people of Afghanistan. I am asking them to recognise the difference between supporting Afghan people and legitimising a system that has systematically taken away women’s rights.”
Amiri also questioned whether the international cricket community was applying its principles consistently, particularly when considering the expansion of men’s cricket alongside the absence of opportunities for Afghan women.
She said: “Imagine your daughter, your sister or your wife being told that she cannot attend school simply because she is a woman. Imagine being told that she cannot play sport, pursue her ambitions or participate in public life. We cannot celebrate the development of cricket in Afghanistan while ignoring the complete exclusion of half of its population from the game. The question is whether the international cricket community is prepared to stand by its own values when it comes to Afghan women.”
The APL’s immediate future now depends on the completion of the ICC’s approval process, while the ECB’s planned intervention will bring scrutiny of the tournament’s financing into wider discussions over international cricket funding and governance.
