ICC money hasn’t reached the country because of international sanctions following the Taliban’s takeover last year
Umar Farooq12-Oct-2022The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is staring at a financial crisis, with ICC funds not able to reach the board after July 2021.Since the Taliban’s return to political power in August 2021, international sanctions have made it increasingly difficult to send money into the country. ESPNcricinfo understands that while the ACB has completed pending payments to players at all levels as well as the coaching staff, it will be able to pay only 30% of the salaries to employees and other staff working in Afghanistan.ACB officials based in Dubai have been talking to the ICC on the matter, and it is understood that attempts are on to find alternative routes – including via registered NGOs – to get the money into Afghanistan, but no solution has been found yet. It is understood that the ICC has told ACB that money cannot be moved into Afghanistan without an approved regulatory mechanism in place.Afghanistan became Full Members of the ICC in 2017, which entitled them to enhanced distribution of funds from the ICC revenues, like other Full Members. According to the ICC’s funds-disbursement model, the ACB was expected to get around US$ 40 million for the 2016-23 commercial rights cycle based on projected ICC revenues of $ 2.7 billion. However, with the ICC’s projected revenues coming down, that has been adjusted to around $4.8 million per year.
Had a productive meeting with @ICC CEO Mr. Jeof Allardice about potential solutions for our banking issues & the preps for the Melbourne meeting. It's essential to resolve the banking issues for ACB as a sporting org. We also thank the ICC for their regular cooperation. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/AwDPkYc4Zq
— Naseeb Khan (@NaseebAFGcric) October 13, 2022