Established in 1998, FICA is a democratic player-driven organisation that brings together the world’s ‘organised’ professional cricketers under an international body which focuses on matters that affect the players collectively, and the global game. Players who are members of a FICA member association are, by extension, also guaranteed the support of the other players’ associations in other countries. We care about:
The Game: Positively influencing the direction of the global game
Players’ Associations: Strengthening and growing
FICA, guided by its Principles, maintains a global view and works to represent the collective views and opinions of all professional players affiliated to it. Its responsibility is not to players in any particular country or region but to the collective of the majority of the worlds’ professional cricketers which it represents. Even in countries where players’ associations do not exist, the players benefit from the work FICA does.
FICA exists for players and we are player- centric in everything we do. We work hard to be respected and valued by all players, our member associations, and cricket’s other key stakeholders. We believe in both inclusivity and diversity. We care about the game and strive to be thought-leaders by being knowledgeable, positive and proactive across all our activities.
FICA International Player of the Year/Hall of Fame Awards established
Barry Richards appointed as FICA’s inaugural President
2000
FICA commences dialogue with the ICC
2002
FICA coordinates the basis on which player rights and IP could be on-sold in relation to ICC events
Other players’ associations join FICA
2003
FICA formally recognised by the ICC
2005
Tim May appointed as FICA’s first full time CEO
FICA World XI formed for Tsunami relief game to replace cancelled Sri Lankan tour of New Zealand
2007
FICA negotiates player terms for ICC events (2007-2015)
2008
Jimmy Adams succeeds Barry Richards as FICA President
2012
FICA joins UniSport Pro (now World Players’ Association) as one of its founder organisations alongside IRPA, FIFPRO, NFLPA, EU Athletes
2013
Paul Marsh appointed Executive Chairman
2014
Tony Irish succeeds Paul Marsh as FICA Executive Chairman
2015
FICA negotiates player terms for ICC events (2015-2023)
FICA publishes Guiding Principles
FICA publishes inaugural Player Health, Safety and Security Overview Report
FICA commences representation of women’s cricketers
2016
FICA publishes inaugural International Cricket Structural Review
Former internationals Lisa Sthalekar and Graeme Smith appointed as first independent Board Members
2017
Vikram Solanki succeeds Jimmy Adams as FICA President
Irish Cricketers’ Association formed and recognised as a FICA member
Scottish Cricketers’ Association formed and recognised as a FICA member
FICA successfully challenges the unauthorised use of player commercial rights at global level
2018
FICA publishes inaugural Global Employment Reports
FICA launches men’s and women’s T20 Player Indexes in partnership with Cricket Archive
FICA establishes men’s and women’s Player Advisory Groups
2019
FICA establishes Global Player Welfare & Education Platforms
2020
Tom Moffat appointed as FICA CEO
FICA publishes updated Principles and commences new Strategy period
Heath Mills succeeds Tony Irish as FICA Executive Chairman
Dutch Cricketers’ Association formed and recognised as a FICA Member
2021
FICA establishes FICA Global Player Rights Ltd and FICA Global Player Commercial Program
2022
Lisa Sthalekar succeeds Vikram Solanki as FICA President
Sana Mir, former Pakistan Captain, is appointed as an independent Board Member of FICA
Office Bearers
Lisa Sthalekar – President
Lisa is a former Australian player who captained her country, having made 187 international appearances for Australia. She amassed almost 4,000 international runs and more than 200 international wickets. Lisa is a member of both the Cricket Australia and ICC Hall’s of Fame. Lisa has done significant work promoting the development of the game and player interests in various roles, including as a former Independent Director of FICA and on the Australian Cricketers’ Association Executive. Since finishing her playing career she has forged a career as a broadcaster, and is also the current player nominated representative on the ICC Women’s Committee.
Heath became the inaugural CEO of the New Zealand Cricket Players Association in 2002 after working with the players to establish the organisation, and has led New Zealand’s professional cricketers in collective bargaining negotiations in 2002, 2006 and 2010, culminating in collective agreements which have been instrumental to growing the game in New Zealand. Heath is also a Director of the New Zealand Athletes’ Federation, and Chairman of the New Zealand Hockey Players Association. Heath has been a Board Member of FICA since 2002, was appointed to the FICA Executive in 2014, and appointed Executive Chairman in 2020
Tom is a former first class cricketer, having played for South Australia in 2010/11. Tom worked as a commercial lawyer following his admission in Australia and also worked briefly as a seconded lawyer to the Australian Cricketers’ Association, and at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague in 2013. Prior to joining FICA, initially as Chief Operating Officer, Tom was Legal Counsel at Professional Footballers Australia, the collective representative of Australia’s professional footballers.
Alasdair is a current Scottish international cricketer and made his One Day International debut in 2009. Alasdair holds a BsC in Psychology from Loughborough University. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Scottish Cricketers’ Association in 2017 and in the negotiation of the first and subsequent collective agreements for Scottish international players. He currently holds the post of President of the SCA.
Cecelia Joyce – Vice President ICA, FICA Board Member
Cecelia is a former Irish international cricketer having played 57 One Day Internationals for Ireland between 2001 and 2018. Cecelia is currently a practising lawyer at leading Irish firm A&L Goodbody, working as an Association in their Litigation and Dispute Resolution team. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Irish Cricketers’ Association in 2017 and currently holds the post of Vice President of the ICA.
Paul van Meekeren – President DCA, FICA Board Member
Paul made his international debut for The Netherlands in 2013 and has been a regular fixture in their men’s national team since that time. Paul was instrumental in the establishment of the Dutch Cricketers’ Association and became their inaugural President in 2020.
Rob was a founding member of the New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association, which was formed in 2001 when his brief professional career saw him represent Auckland. After leaving the professional game in 2003, Lynch has maintained his passion for cricket and business throughout his working life, which has seen him in various senior roles within the game. As a Player Representative, he grew commercial profiles of professional cricketers before joining CricHQ as Managing Director.
Lynch joined Middlesex County Cricket Club in 2016 as Commercial Director before being promoted to Chief Operating Officer in May 2019 due to transforming the clubs commercial operation through securing major sponsorship deals and creating numerous successful commercial initiatives.
The New Zealander joined the PCA in February 2020 as Commercial Director before being appointed Chief Executive in October later that year after a spell as Interim CEO.
Sana is a former Pakistan captain, having played in 226 international matches, including 137 of those as captain of the side. She was the number one ranked bowler in the world for a period of time, and now commentates on the game. She features on numerous boards and has a Bachelor Degree in Mathematics, Statistics and Economics.
Todd Greenberg is the ACA’s Chief Executive Officer. He joined the ACA in February 2021 having spent the last five years as the CEO of the National Rugby League (NRL).
Prior to his time at the NRL, Todd held several distinguished roles, including six years as CEO of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and seven years as General Manager of Commercial Operations at ANZ Stadium – one of the premier stadiums in Australia and home of the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
Todd is a proud Australia Day Ambassador, a board member of the Australian Athletes Alliance (AAA) and a non executive director of Venues NSW. Todd holds a Bachelor of Sports Science Degree from the University of NSW and a Masters, Management (Sports Management) from the University Technology, Sydney
Tony is a former South African provincial and national hockey player. He worked as a practising lawyer in a large corporate law firm before establishing his own firm specialising in sports and entertainment law. Prior to taking over as CEO of the Professional Cricketers’ Association in England, Tony established the South African Cricketers’ Association in 2002 and was its Chief Executive for 17 years. He led the South African cricketers through four major four-year collective bargaining processes and has also chaired the Board of the South African Rugby Players’ Association. Tony has been a member of the FICA Board since 2003 and served as FICA’s Executive Chairman between 2014 – 2020. He has also been a Vice President of the World Players’ Association.
Wavell is a former international cricket having played 45 Tests and 119 ODI’s for the West Indies between 2000 and 2010, amassing more than 5,000 international runs. Wavell served as president of WIPA from 2012 before being appointed as CEO of WIPA in 2014.
FICA MEMBERS
AFFILIATIONS
World Players Association
FICA is a founding member of The World Players Association (WPA). WPA brings together 85,000 players across professional sport through more than 100 players’ associations in over 60 countries.
Major player associations belonging to World Players include:
• FIFPro, the world football players’ union
• Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA)
• International Rugby Players’ Association (IRPA)
• European Elite Athletes’ Association (EU Athletes)
• National Football League Players Association (NFLPA)
• National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA)
• National Basketball Players Association (NBPA)
• Japanese Professional Baseball Players Association (JPBPA)
• Australian Athletes’ Alliance (AAA).
The vision of World Players is: “To champion the dignity of the player and the humanity of sport.”
In the pursuit of this vision World Players has a three-part goal: First, the human rights of everyone involved in the delivery of sport must be protected, respected and, where needed, upheld. Second, the same must be true for the players. Third, the impact of sport must be positive, including in sporting, economic, environmental and cultural terms.
The FICA Player Advisory Groups, comprised predominantly of current senior international players nominated by their home players' association, complement FICA’s ongoing program of structured engagement with its member players’ associations and players around the world to ensure it is accurately representing collective player views and interests at the global level. The PAG's focus on both cricketing and employment related issues that affect players globally.