Paul Marsh – SACA | South African Cricketers' Association

Text Info Strip

Proteas Prepare for International Summer as SACA MVP Expands

The South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) anticipates an exciting international summer for both the Proteas Men and Women. Kicking off…

SACA Celebrates Tony Irish on Receiving the Prestigious Tim May Medal of Honour

The South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) is proud to celebrate its founder and former CEO, Tony Irish, who received the…

Kyle Simmonds Crowned Overall Division 1 SACA MVP

The 2025/26 domestic cricket season concludes with Western Province all-rounder Kyle Simmonds named Division 1 Overall SACA MVP. Simmonds earned…

WORLD PLAYERS ASSOCIATION UNVEILS STRATEGY

March 29, 2017March 17, 2026

UNI World Athletes, which brings together 85,000 players across professional sport through more than 100 player associations in over 60 countries, has today unveiled its new strategic vision – #WorldPlayersUnited – to ensure the voice of the player is heeded in the running of sport.

The new vision sees UNI World Athletes become the World Players Association. #WorldPlayersUnited involves placing the voice of the players at the centre of world sport’s decision-making through a powerful strategic focus on three pillars:

I. Voice
Build the voice of the players and the power of the player association movement

II. Dignity
Embed the fundamental rights of the players in world sport

III. Humanity
Work to embed the human rights of everyone involved in the delivery of sport, included affected groups such as workers, local communities, journalists and fans.

“#WorldPlayersUnited introduces the organised and highly respected voice of the players and their organisations to the leadership of world sport,” World Players Executive Director Brendan Schwab said. “In so doing, it envisages a future world of sport that is very different to the one that exists today.”

“Our vision is to champion the dignity of the player and the humanity of sport.”

“We have a three-part goal in the pursuit of this vision. First, the human rights of everyone involved in the delivery of sport must be protected, respected and fulfilled. Second, the same must be true for the players. And, third, the impact of sport must be positive, including in sporting, economic, environmental and cultural terms.”

“The attainment of this goal in full is necessary if sport is to retain its social licence. The future world of sport will therefore be underpinned by adherence to universal principles and international law.”

World Players President Don Fehr, the Executive Director of the National Hockey League Players Association said, “The purpose of World Players is to ensure that the players across sports who have common interests get together and play their role so that the key decisions in world sport that affect them are no longer made without their agreement.”

“As a guiding principle, we hold that all players should be free to negotiate the terms upon which they are involved in world sport, and to be represented by persons and organisations of their choice.”

“The players are very concerned about human rights, very concerned about labour rights and recognise that neither means very much without a prompt and effective remedy.”

World Players Vice President Theo van Seggelen, the Secretary General of FIFPro, the world football players’ union, said, “The world’s footballers are united with players across sport to ensure the rights of all players are respected and that international sport is governed free of corruption, cheating and the abuse of human rights. We will act across the world with solidarity. Players who are members of a player association in one country or sport can rely on the support of World Players and our affiliated player associations.”

The World Players Association is a sector of UNI Global Union. Its General Secretary Philip Jennings, who has been instrumental in the development of World Players, praised the new strategy.

“It is incredibly important to see the players of the world organise around both their rights and the rights of everyone involved in sport. The rate of player unionisation is increasing dramatically around the world for both men and women. Everyone involved in sport needs decent work and a fair wage, be they players, construction workers preparing for Mega-Sporting Events or workers involved in sports’ supply chains.”

Major player associations affiliated to World Players include
• FIFPro, the world football players’ union
• the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA)
• the International Rugby Players’ Association (IRPA)
• the European Elite Athletes’ Association (EU Athletes)
• the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA)
• the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA)
• the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA)
• the Japanese Professional Baseball Players Association (JPBPA)
• the Australian Athletes’ Alliance (AAA)

World Players Executive Committee

• Don Fehr (Canada), the Executive Director of the NHLPA (President)
• Theo van Seggelen (The Netherlands), the Secretary General of FIFPro (First Vice President)
• Jeff Reymond (France), the General Secretary of EU Athletes (Vice President)
• Omar Hassanein (Ireland), IRPA Board member and CEO of the Irish Rugby Union Players Association
• Tony Irish (South Africa), FICA Executive Chairman and CEO of the South African Cricketers’ Association
• Paul Marsh (Australia), AAA Board member and Australian Football League Players Association CEO
• DeMaurice Smith (United States), the Executive Director of the NFLPA
• Dejan Stefanovic (Slovenia), FIFPro Board member and president of the Slovenian footballers and athletes union
• Frederique Winia (The Netherlands), the Director of International Relations of FIFPro
• Takuya Yamazaki (Japan), Legal Counsel and Board member of the JPBPA
• Philip Jennings, the General Secretary of the UNI Global Union (ex officio)

World Players Executive Director
Brendan Schwab

UNI Global Union
The World Players Association was formally established in December 2014 as an autonomous sector of UNI Global Union (UNI). It has been known as UNI World Athletes until today’s announcement.
Based in Nyon, Switzerland, UNI represents more than 20 million workers from over 900 trade unions in the fastest growing sectors in the world – skills and services, including media and sport. UNI and its affiliates in all regions are driven by the responsibility to ensure jobs are decent and workers’ rights are protected, including the right to join a union and collective bargaining.

To arrange an interview with Brendan Schwab or for more information please contact: Richard Elliott, Director of Communications UNI Global Union, richard.elliott@uniglobalunion.org +41 79 794 9709

@WorldPlayersUtd ¦ @uniglobalunion ¦ @BrendanSchwab
www.uniglobalunion.org/sectors/worldplayers

Text Info Strip

FICA Calls on ICC Board to direct N. Srinivasan to step aside from ICC functions

April 4, 2014March 17, 2026

The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) today called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) Board to direct N. Srinivasan to stand aside from all ICC functions.

FICA Executive Chairman Paul Marsh today said it was imperative that the ICC Board acted strongly in response to the situation involving Mr Srinivasan.

“Serious allegations of betting and spot fixing in IPL 2013 have been made against Mr Gurunath Meiyappan as the alleged Team Principal of Chennai Super Kings and these remain the subject of proceedings before the Indian Supreme Court.

“Mr Srinivasan is the Managing Director of Indian Cements Limited (the owner of the Chennai Super Kings) and is also the father-in-law of Mr Meiyappan.

“The Supreme Court order from last Friday noted that Mr Srinivasan had made a written offer through his legal counsel to step aside from his functions as BCCI President until investigations into the allegations against him were completed.

“The Supreme Court has issued an interim order prohibiting any employees of India Cements Limited (other than players or commentators) from performing any duties for the BCCI. FICA understands that the order applies to Mr Srinivasan, as Managing Director of the company.”

Mr Marsh called on the ICC Board to take note of the Supreme Court’s recent orders and apply the same principles to ICC activities.

“While we are pleased that Mr Srinivasan, at the behest of the Supreme Court, has agreed to step down from his duties as BCCI President, we are of the firm belief that he should not be exercising any functions on behalf of the ICC either, while any investigations concerning his conduct or that of his company are pending or unresolved,” he said.

“The cricket world has been told time and again by the ICC that corruption is the game’s biggest issue and that the game has a zero tolerance approach to it.

“For our game to survive we need it to be not only free of corruption but free of any suspicion of corruption.

“The ICC needs to put the reputation of the game and confidence in its procedures first. The players, and other stakeholders in the game, are entitled to expect this from the ICC’s Executive Board.

“Under the current circumstances, the prospect of Mr Srinivasan taking the highest posting in world cricket while these matters are unresolved, is an impossible one,” Mr Marsh said.

Text Info Strip

FICA RESPONSE TO ICC STRUCTURAL CHANGES

February 10, 2014March 17, 2026

Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) Executive Chairman Paul Marsh today issued the following statement in response to the ICC Board decision to approve changes to its governance, competition and financial models: “This is a very sad day for our game,” Marsh said. “Whilst unfortunately the final outcome had an air of inevitability about it once the process became clear, it again highlights how poorly our game is governed.

“Of extreme concern to all involved in FICA is the fact that so many key stakeholders in the game condemned the proposed changes, including players past and present; former ICC office bearers; Transparency International – the body set up to fight global corruption; Lord Woolf – the man responsible for independently reviewing the ICC’s governance; numerous media commentators as well as cricket fans worldwide, yet the ICC Board still approved these changes.

“This should be an indicator to the future for all of us, where self-interest and short-term deal making will override the long-term health of the game and views of its key stakeholders. “FICA and its members will continue to oppose these changes in the interests of the game’s future,” Marsh concluded

Text Info Strip

FICA RESPONSE TO F&CA WORKING GROUP POSITION PAPER

January 22, 2014March 17, 2026

Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) Executive Chairman Paul Marsh today issued the following statement in response to the position paper of the F&CA Commercial Rights Working Group that was leaked earlier this week.

“After reviewing the working group’s proposal, the FICA Board and our members are extremely concerned about the future of international cricket.

“This proposal is designed to vest control of the game in the three Boards of India, Australia and England. It is not in the best interests of the global game and we have real fears that it will only serve to strengthen the ‘big three’ countries whilst the rest are left to wither on the vine.

“There are a myriad of issues with this proposal. First and foremost, as Board Directors of the ICC, the Chairmen of the BCCI, Cricket Australia and ECB owe fiduciary duties to the ICC that include putting the interests of the ICC ahead of those of their individual Boards, a duty to remain loyal to the ICC and avoid conflicts of interests and to act in good faith to promote the success of the ICC. We seriously question whether all of these duties have been met.

“The proposals relating to scheduling are disturbing. The reassurance to the Boards outside the ‘big three’ that they are guaranteed to earn more in the next rights cycle than they have in the current one ignores the fact they are almost certain to lose more money from a re-shaped Future Tours Programme (FTP) than they will gain from ICC distributions, when the ‘big three’ inevitably pick and choose who, when and where they will play.

“Of significance is the section that offers a guarantee from CA and ECB to play three Tests and five ODIs per cycle to each of the top eight members, yet there is no mention of any such guarantee from the BCCI. Each of the member countries, including Australia and England, rely heavily on Indian tours for sustainability of the game in their country. What chance do the majority of members have of survival if the BCCI decides not to tour their countries on at least a semi-regular basis?

“The result of this is that the gap between the ‘big three’ and the rest will get bigger and bigger, which will undermine the competitiveness of future ICC Events and therefore the value of rights in future cycles. This will affect everyone and it cannot possibly be in the interests of international cricket nor of the health and sustainability of the world game of which the ICC is supposed to be the custodian.

“We also have significant concern with the notion that distributions from ICC events should be based on commercial contribution. The result of this will be the countries that need ICC income most will receive the least, whilst the ‘big three’ will get the lion’s share even though they are already financially healthy because of the value of the rights to their bilateral series. The role of ICC events should be to assist in levelling the financial playing field by distributing the proceeds from these events fairly, rather than further widening the gap between the rich and poor.

“Whilst these are an entirely foreseeable commercial outcomes, for the cricket fan the greater concern is the increasing gulf in quality between the ‘big three’ and the rest. The essence of sport is competition and those in control of the ICC should be doing all they can to promote and provide a level playing field. This proposal will achieve the complete opposite.

“Ironically the proposal espouses the principal of meritocracy. The linking of immunity from Test relegation for BCCI, ECB and CA to an argument that this is necessary ‘solely to protect ICC income’ is plainly wrong, given the fact no Test-based ICC events feature in the forward thinking and therefore all revenues generated from Test cricket are kept by the Boards hosting the respective series.

“Once again we are seeing the result of the poor governance structure and practices of the ICC, on this occasion led by three of its Board members. This proposal is 180 degrees from the structure proposed in the ICC’s own independently commissioned governance review (Woolf Report). It is also clearly unconstitutional.

“The game deserves far better than this and all within FICA call on the other seven ICC Board members to reject this proposal at next week’s Board meeting. The future of the game depends on them doing so,” Marsh concluded.

-ends-

For further comment, please contact:

Paul Marsh – FICA Executive Chairman

(Media enquiries via Eivion Bowen)

Email: ebowen@auscricket.com.au
Phone: +61 425 555 569

Website: www.thefica.com

The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) was established in 1998 to co-ordinate the activities of all national players’ associations which protect the interests of professional cricketers throughout the world. It brings together all of the world’s cricketers, regardless of nationality, religion, political persuasion or race, under an international body focuses on matters of general interest to the game and its players.