The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (Fica) is set to take legal action against the International Cricket Council (ICC) over the alleged unfair use of players’ image rights.
Fica first raised concerns about the matter over a year ago and is now taking action, with its chief executive Tom Moffat stating that the ICC “haven’t been interested in working on a fair outcome”.
Players represented by Fica have expressed concerns over how commercial sponsors exploit their images for use in fantasy cricket products and behind-the-scenes documentaries, The Guardian has reported.
Fica represents a large proportion of cricketers from major Test-playing nations, with the exception of India and Pakistan, and players are seeking a fair share of the money being generated from their image rights.
“The ICC are using player attributes and other commercial rights outside of this and in a way that hasn’t been authorised by the players,” said Moffat, a former cricketer in Australia. “The ICC are making money from this and players are not receiving a fair share of that.
“Players give the ICC certain limited rights to use their attributes/image in certain ways during ICC events and for a short period before and after them. These are given through squad terms the players sign before competing. The ICC do not have a blank canvas to make money using player images and attributes without their consent and without fair arrangements being in place.”
Fica wrote to ICC management in October giving advanced warning that they intended to take the image rights dispute further.
The case concerns the rights of both male and female players, with the profile of the women’s game having been given a major boost with this year’s T20 World Cup in Australia.
The ICC has not commented on the case.
John Stephenson
john@cricketinvestor.co.uk
#Cricketnews #ICC #Fica
