CPL CEO talks expanding women’s tournament, boosting viewership

The Massy Women’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL) can see an expansion regarding the number of teams competing in the tournament, as the institution looks to give some special attention to the women’s tournament in the next season, according to CEO Pete Russell.
Russell made the revelation whilst responding to inquiries at a press conference in Trinidad and Tobago earlier this week.
While Russell positively answered questions about the possibility of the tournament having more teams in future, he noted that they need to be careful not to dilute the pool of Caribbean players available.
“I think (that) with all of these leagues, you have to be careful. For us, I think CPL works very well in the timeslot, and I think people go away from it in the end wanting more. What I don’t ever want to do is to get to a point where it just keeps going on and on, little bit unfortunately like our Australian friends, the Big Bash, you know, the tournament just keeps going,” Russell told media operatives in the twin-island Republic of T&T.

He went on to explain, “So, I think we’ve got to be careful with how we do that. But look, at some point, there’s such a clamouring for more teams; but again, you’ve got to be careful you don’t dilute the pool of players. Obviously, you’ve got to remember it’s a Caribbean tournament, so you’ve got to make sure we get the best Caribbean players. We certainly don’t want to be thinking along the lines of the tournament (being played) in Dubai, where there’s more international players coming in.”
As such, Russell went on to indicate that there is an intention to market the women’s game more, in order to foster growth.
“I think if you look at the tournament in 2023 this year, the standard, the quality, is just so much greater than the first year. I think people saw that, I think people were surprised by that, I think it’s only going to get better. You know, I think women’s sport generally around the world is obviously a lot more recognized, I think women’s cricket is leading the charge in that,” he explained.
“Our job is to market it. You can rest assured that we wouldn’t leave any stone unturned in making sure that we fill those stadiums,” Russell vowed.
In continuing to discuss the Massy Women’s CPL, Russell disclosed that there are plans to have the tournament stand alone in 2024 for more visibility.
The CPL CEO divulged, “And of course, for the women, we expanded it from four games to seven. We’re going to do the same again in 2024, but the difference is going to be that the women will play on their own. So, we’re not going to play them with the men, we’re going to have a separate tournament. Now that, I think, is the start of a very important process, so they’re recognized in their own right.
“We’ll have 7pm games for the women, so everyone can come and enjoy them. Not that we tagged them on to the men, but (it) was easier to obviously play those double headers. So, they’ll have their own oxygen, if you’d like, and play their games in their own timeslot, which is very exciting,” Russell concluded on the topic.
The Massy Women’s CPL was hosted from August 31st to September 10th this year, with Barbados Royals Women ultimately lifting the championship.