Federation of International Cricketers Association (FICA) recently released its
Men’s Professional Cricket Global Employment Report 2017, first of its kind in cricket which primarily focuses on the shifting employment landscape for players globally, as a key cause for, and effect of, change in the game, and also analyses player employment at individual country by country level across major cricketing countries and players’ associations.
The report, covering the 2016-17 period, is based on analysis of statistical data research, including quantitative and qualitative surveying of more than 300 current professional and int'l players that represent 3162 cricketers in total from all nine FICA member countries.
Key Findings:
1. Relatively small global player employment market
2. Fragmented and significantly shifting global player employment landscape
3. Increasing shift to free agency, hybrid or horizontal employment pathways
4. No coherent global structure
5. Short term, insecure employment
6. Significant disparity bet'n remuneration levels for players across countries and among other employment markets
7. Varying relationship quality between players and boards around the world
8. Concerns re: the breaches of basic employment rights of players
9. Inconsistency in employment terms and conditions
10. New regulatory challenges for the boards due to shifting landscape
"Shifting Landscape" refers to the current trend of young players increasingly being drawn towards becoming free agents, floating from one T20 league to another, and shunning traditional paths in order to play in international cricket. The report defines traditional path (domestic to int'l for country) as vertical path and the shifting trend (domestic/int'l to hybrid into free agents) as horizontal path.
Report download:
http://www.thefica.com/wp-content/up...rt-2017-dp.pdf
Cricinfo article:
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/...-agency-flight