Sri Lanka cricketers to receive part of back wages
Sri Lanka's national cricket team members will receive a portion of the eight months of back wages they are owed next week, the sports minister said.
- Associated Press
- Updated: December 07, 2011 02:15 PM IST
Sri Lanka's national cricket team members will receive a portion of the eight months of back wages they are owed next week, the sports minister said.
Sports Minister Mahindanda Aluthgamage told Parliament on Tuesday that 65 percent of the contract payments owed to the cricketers will be made when Sri Lanka Cricket receives $1.8 million (1.3 million euros) from the International Cricket Council for co-hosting the World Cup with India and Bangladesh earlier this year.
The Federation of International Cricketers' Association said last month that Sri Lanka owes its cricketers $6 million (4.5 million euros) in contract payments and match fees since the World Cup ended in April.
Sri Lanka Cricket, once the richest sports body in the country, has run up a debt of $69 million (51 million euros), mainly because it constructed two new cricket grounds and renovated a third for the World Cup.
"We are aware that Sri Lanka Cricket is undergoing some cash flow difficulties at present as it awaits its final payment from the International Cricket Council for World Cup hosting fees," FICA Chief Executive Tim May said in a statement last month.
"It is important that we keep international cricket as the ultimate goal for budding cricketers around the world. The situation that SLC finds itself in certainly does not assist in achieving that goal," he said.
Aluthgamage dissolved the Sri Lanka Cricket board in July over allegations of corruption and mismanagement, but did not open an investigation into the accusations.