Jamaica's Minister of Sport says government 'did its best' to support Tallawahs team

Jamaica's Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, said her ministry "did its best" to give support to the Jamaica Tallawahs cricket team.

Her statement comes following the announcement that Jamaica Tallawahs, the 2022 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) champions, will not feature in the tournament’s 2024 season and will be replaced by a new franchise based in Antigua and Barbuda.

Last month, the owner of the Tallawah Kris Persaud, a Guyanese businessman based in Florida, sold the franchise back to the CPL. According to a release, “the owners were left with no option but to sell the Tallawahs back to CPL as they could not find a way to operate the team sustainably."

The Jamaican government, specifically the sports ministry, faced backlash for not adequately supporting the team, following the announcement.

Sports Minister says funding was provided

In a statement on Thursday, Minister Grange said her ministry “sought to provide special support to the Tallawahs at the level that our funds would permit.”

She said her ministry provided cash, paid for services, as well as coordinated services across the Government of Jamaica to facilitate the Tallawahs.

Cumulatively, direct cash payments of J$13 million were provided to Jamaica Tallawahs, including the purchase of tickets for matches, between 2015 and 2019.

Additional support was provided including providing goods and equipment needed for use during cricket matches; providing transportation for the team; and licenses for television broadcasts.

Grange said she also successfully participated in discussions with private sector companies about sponsorship for the team.

“We did our best to give support to the Tallawahs. The Tallawahs bear our country’s name, but are not a national team, and are therefore not covered in the yearly allocations to the Jamaica Cricket Association. However, we have sought to provide special support to the Tallawahs at the level that our funds will permit," she said.

Government not 'anti-cricket,' says minister

Grange noted that the Sports Development Foundation provided J$263 million in grants to all national sports federations in 2023.

“It is estimated that the Tallawahs require US$1 million each year—or more than J$150 million; but in order to give them more we would have to cut funding to the more than 40 National Sports Federations, such as football, netball, track, and field, who depend on government to run their programs and have been requesting additional sums — which we are challenged to provide," she explained.

Minister Grange challenged the notion that the government was anti-cricket, pointing out that the Jamaica Cricket Association receives more funding each year from the Sports Development Foundation than all other national federations except football and track and field.