The recent partnership marks a significant advancement in serving the evolving needs of the Indian market
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For the past three years, the world has been battling one of the worst pandemics in modern history. However, sports like cricket have been thriving, giving hope for a brighter tomorrow.
Although there are only 12 full members in the ICC, the sport's governing body is confident that more teams will join the elite group from many countries and territories worldwide.
Cricket is played in over 130 countries, many of whom are associate members but do not play Test, ODI, and T20 cricket.
However, that could change given the popularity cricket is currently enjoying, even in countries that are fundamentally known for their passion for football.
With the ICC expanding the Men's T20 World Cup to a 20-team tournament from 2024 onwards, there are chances that fans eventually might see some football-mad countries in cricket's biggest showpiece.
But more importantly, it's quite heartening for cricket fans to see their favourite sport gaining a foothold in football-mad countries.
Let's take a look at five football-loving countries where cricket is now becoming popular.
Cricket in Brazil started in the mid-1800s when British residents living in Rio de Janeiro formed a few cricket clubs. However, the native population took very little interest in the game.
The Brazil Cricket Association (BCA) was formed in 1922. In 2001 Brazil became an ICC Affiliate Member.
In recent years, an all-Brazilian women's team has been making waves by winning the South American Cricket Championships four times which helped spark a cricket craze. Today, there are over 509,000 cricketers in the country.
Like Brazil, Japanese people were introduced to cricket by the British in the 1860s, but it was only in the 1980s that it began to develop with the launch of the Miyagimura Cup, which became the 40-over Japan Cricket League. The Japan Cup was established in 2010, and the Japan Premier League in 2014.
The men's team began playing internationals in 1996 as part of the Asia Cricket Council, and the first International success came in the ICC EAP Cricket Cup in 2005 and 2007. The latter victory promoted Japan to the World Cricket League from 2008 – 201.
Meanwhile, the Japanese women made the headlines when they won the Bronze Medal at the Asian Games in 2010, behind Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Japan's most recent success came in 2020 when their Men's Under 19 team qualified for the Under 19 World Cup in South Africa.
Although they were unable to win a game, it led to a spurt in cricket numbers in the country.
Thai students fell in love with the game in England and brought it back to Thailand.
The national team played its first international against Hong Kong in 1990 and became an affiliate member of the ICC in 1995.
Women's cricket only began in 2007 but has since become one of the most prolific Associates in the game's history. They are the proud record holders for the highest number of consecutive T20I wins against full ICC members, including Sri Lanka, Ireland, and Zimbabwe.
There are seven turf wickets, fourteen active cricket-playing provinces, and three national academies in the country.
Although records show that cricket was first played in France in the 15th century, it was officially played only during the second half of the 19th century.
The Fédération Française de Cricket was formed in 1920, while immigrants from Britain and South Asia boosted the scene in the 1980s. In the 1980s, the French Cricket Association was reformed, and it became an Affiliate Member of the ICC in 1988. France also won the European Championships in 1993.
There is a flourishing men's national T20 league, while the youth team won the U18 European Tournament In 2001. The French U19 team followed suit to win the European championships in 2012 and 2014.
In 2019, France hosted a 4-team Women's T20 International series which helped raise the standard of the game. France is now the 5th ranked Associate team in Europe, and in 2021, their women's national team competed for the first time in an ICC Women's Europe Qualifier.
Uzbekistan's capital Tashkent had hosted annual cricket games since 1997, when expatriate Indian workers started organising cricket matches amongst themselves.
The first notable match took place in 1999 when a British Embassy Team played against a 'Commonwealth XI' featuring players from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Malaysia.
Cricket gained momentum in 2019 with the registration of the Cricket Federation of Uzbekistan. There are close to 300 active players in the country.
In July 2022, the Uzbekistan Cricket Federation Associated Membership status with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and continued to collaborate with neighbours Tajikistan and Kazakhstan in a bid to develop the game in the region.
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