The World Cricketers’ Association (WCA) has highlighted the inaugural European T20 Premier League (ETPL) as a leading example of player engagement in the latest Global Leagues Hub Update, while continuing to raise concerns around payment and player rights issues in other parts of the global league’s landscape.
Drawing on contract reviews, operational analysis, and feedback from players and agents, the WCA Global Leagues Hub Update provides a point-in-time overview of progress and live and emerging issues raised across the global domestic leagues landscape, with a focus on the standards and protections that underpin professional competitions.
Positive progress
- European T20 Premier League: Demonstrating leading best practice through early engagement with WCA, and the Irish, Dutch and Scottish Cricketers’ Associations to collectively negotiate player agreements ahead of its inaugural season.
- Major League Cricket: Established a new collective bargaining agreement and negotiated standard player contracts with the United States Cricketers’ Association, providing greater certainty and consistency for players and the competition.
- Bermuda Smash Invitational: Proactively approached WCA to review employment conditions and identify opportunities to strengthen standards.
- SA20: Continuing to operate within an established player-representation and commercial rights framework through the South African Cricketers’ Association.
Issues raised and areas requiring improvement
- Max60 Caribbean: Outstanding payment issues from 2025 event led to player action and cancelled fixtures. The situation also highlights a broader regulatory concern where organisers associated with repeated non-payment issues are able to remain involved in other sanctioned or approved competitions.
- Bangladesh Premier League: Repeated and significant payment issues across multiple seasons and franchises, with the Bangladesh Cricket Board communicating that the 2026 edition has been postponed while it works to restructure the competition following significant financial losses.
- Indian Premier League: Ongoing concerns raised around collective player representation, contracting, commercial rights, and independent security oversight.
- Belgium EUT20: Issues with the clarity and delivery of player arrangements and protections were identified during the 2026 season and should be addressed before the next edition.
WCA CEO Tom Moffat said:
“The growth of domestic leagues has been overwhelmingly positive for cricket, but with that growth comes a responsibility to ensure players have clarity, appropriate protections and confidence in the arrangements they are entering into. The ETPL is a good example of what can be achieved when leagues engage player representatives early and work constructively to establish clear arrangements before players take the field.
“The purpose of the WCA Leagues Hub is to help lift standards across the global game by recognising good practice, identifying where improvement is needed, and working constructively with leagues and governing bodies to address those issues.
“There is no reason players within the same global sanctioning framework should experience fundamentally different standards and protections depending on which competition they play in. Greater consistency, transparency and professionalism across the global leagues landscape is ultimately good for players, leagues, and the growth of the game.”
