Africa Cricket Association

The Africa Cricket Association (ACA) is an international body which coordinates the development of cricket in Africa. The ACA was founded in 1997, and has 23 member countries.

Africa Cricket Association
AbbreviationACA
Formation1997; 27 years ago (1997)
PurposeCricket administration
HeadquartersBenoni, South Africa
Membership23 associations
Chairman
Sumod Damodar
Websitewww.africacricket.com

The role of the ACA includes promoting the development of cricket in Africa and organising some regional tournaments. These have included the ACA Africa T20 Cup and the Africa Women's Twenty20 Championship. The role of the ACA is complementary to the International Cricket Council (ICC), which organises the regional qualifying tournaments for global events.

History

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The ACA has its origins in the Zone VI Cricket Confederation, which was established in 1991 to coordinate international cricket in Southern Africa along the lines of the African Zone VI Athletics Championships. The inaugural Zone VI tournament was held in Windhoek in September 1991 with Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, and Zambia participating along with the Oxford University Cricket Club as guests. The confederation soon secured the support of the United Cricket Board of South Africa and expanded outside of Southern Africa, with Uganda joining in 1994 and Kenya joining in 1995. In March 1996, a meeting was held in Johannesburg to discuss the formation of an Africa-wide body.[1]

The inaugural annual general meeting of the Africa Cricket Association (ACA) was held in Harare in August 1997. The last Zone VI tournament was also held in 1997 and replaced by an Africa Cup open to countries from all around the continent. Hoosain Ayob was appointed as full-time development director.[2] Peter Chingoka of Zimbabwe was elected chairman of the ACA in 1998, replacing South Africa's Krish Mackerdhuj.[3]

In 2005, the ACA and the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) established Afro-Asian Cricket Cooperation as a vehicle to promote the Afro-Asia Cup, a series of One Day International (ODI) matches between an Africa XI and an Asia XI to raise funds for the development of cricket on both continents.[4] The 2005 Afro-Asia Cup was held in South Africa and suffered from low attendance and a lack of interest from the players, although generating significant television revenues. A second tournament was held in India in 2007 but the event was not continued, although several proposals for a revival have been made.[5]

In 2023, the ACA announced a 10-year partnership with Mumbai-based firm Corcom Media Ventures for the organisation, promotion, and broadcasting of ACA tournaments, including the ACA Africa T20 Cup and plans for a Women's Africa T20 Cup and an African Premier League.[6]

ACA members

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Country Association ICC Membership
Status
ICC
Membership
ACA
Membership
  South Africa Cricket South Africa Full 1889–present 1997
  Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Cricket Full 1992–present 1997
  Namibia Namibia Cricket Board Associate (ODI status) 1992–present 1997
  Botswana Botswana Cricket Association Associate 2000–present 1997
  Cameroon Cameroon Cricket Association Associate 2007–present 2007
  Gambia Gambia Cricket Association Associate 2002–present 2002
  Ghana Ghana Cricket Association Associate 2002–present 2002
  Cote d'Ivoire Cote d'Ivoire Cricket Federation Associate 2022–present 2022
  Eswatini Eswatini Cricket Association Associate 2007–present 2007
  Kenya Cricket Kenya Associate 1981–present 1997
  Lesotho Lesotho Cricket Association Associate 2001–present 2001
  Malawi Malawi Cricket Association Associate 2003–present 2003
  Mali Fédération Malienne de Cricket Associate 2005–present 2005
  Mauritius Mauritius Cricket Federation 2007
  Morocco Royal Moroccan Cricket Federation 1999–2019 1999
  Mozambique Mozambican Cricket Association Associate 2003–present 2003
  Nigeria Nigeria Cricket Federation Associate 2002–present 2002
  Rwanda Rwanda Cricket Association Associate 2003–present 2003
  Saint Helena St Helena Cricket Association Associate 2001–present 2001
  Seychelles Seychelles Cricket Association Associate 2010–present 2010
  Sierra Leone Sierra Leone Cricket Association Associate 2002–present 2002
  Tanzania Tanzania Cricket Association Associate 2001–present 2001
  Uganda Uganda Cricket Association Associate 1998–present 1998
  Zambia Zambia Cricket Union 2003–2021 2003

Potential Members

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As of 17 November 2024
 
Members of the International Cricket Council, located in Africa.
  Full members (2)
  Associate members with ODI status (1)
  Associate members (20)
  Non-members

References

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  1. ^ du Plooy, Cois (1 October 1998). "History of the Africa Cricket Association". CricInfo. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Zone six cricket tourney phased out". Zimbabwe Independent. ESPNcricinfo. 29 August 1997. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  3. ^ "ZCU Press Release: Africa Cricket Association (19 Mar 1998)". CricInfo. 19 March 1998. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  4. ^ "Afro-Asia Cup 2005". ESPN. 1 August 2005. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  5. ^ "A brief history ..." Cricinfo. Archived from the original on 31 August 2007. Retrieved 7 October 2007.
  6. ^ "Corcom signs two major deals to promote cricket globally". Gulf News. 8 March 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
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