London Assembly Member (AM) and cricket enthusiast Murad Qureshi, today launched an online petition, which aims to lobby the International Olympic Committee (IOC), International Cricket Conference (ICC) and London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) to include an international 20-over cricket competition as part of the 2012 Olympic Games.

Traditionally, the host Olympic nation introduces a national sport as a “demonstration” sport as part of its games, with the long-term view that this should become an official Olympic Sport in future years. This has changed with the Beijing Olympics: with the removal of demonstration sports, host cities are now showcasing local sports as part of the “cultural Olympiad”.

In Beijing, “wushu”, an exhibition and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts, has been incorporated into the cultural Olympiad.

Cricket was last played in the Olympics in 1900 when Great Britain beat France (Holland and Belgium withdrew at the last minute). The French team consisted of Britons living in Paris, reportedly mostly members of the British Embassy.

With the commercial development of Twenty20 Cricket through the England And Wales Cricket Board (ECB) the possibility of a short form of the game acceptable to international (non-cricketing) nations being played at the Olympics becomes a viable proposition.

Launching the campaign, Murad Qureshi said:

“London is the historic home of cricket, a sport which espouses the Olympic ideal of fair play through the “spirit of the game” now enshrined in the official rules by MCC. Hosting the Olympic Games in 2012 provides London an ideal opportunity to showcase cricket to a much wider global audience and, in return, to increase interest the Olympic Games amongst nations that don’t engage as fully with traditional athletics.

“Today I am encouraging Londoners and cricket fans worldwide to visit www.twenty20for2012.com and to sign our online petition. By the time of the next Olympic plenary this autumn, I would like to be able to initially present the numeric support of cricket fans to the IOC and LOCOG as the first step in re-introducing cricket to the Olympic Games.”

To sign the petition, stay updated with the campaign or for further information, www.twenty20for2012.com.

Ends

Notes to Editors

Twenty20for2012

To find out more about Twenty20 for 2012, and to sign the petition, visit: www.twenty20for2012.com.

Cricket at the Olympic Games

Cricket was last played in the Olympics in 1900 when Great Britain beat France (Holland and Belgium withdrew at the last minute). Neither side was representatively selected: The British side was a touring club team, Devon & Somerset Wanderers. The French team consisted of Britons living in Paris, reportedly mostly members of the British Embassy. By Captain’s agreement the 2-day game was played as a 12-a-side game, unlike the usual 11 in most cricket matches.

In December 2007, the International Olympic Committee gave cricket the status of a “recognised sport” after the first day of its executive committee meeting.

Cricket was given this status, for sports not in the Olympic programme but which confirm to certain criteria of the movement in terms of youth promotion and anti-doping policies, for a two-year period.

“Cricket will benefit from this status for two years and could receive it permanently in 2009,” said IOC communications director Gisele Davies.

Further information about recognised Olympic sports can be found at:
www.olympic.org/uk/sports/recognized/index_uk.asp

Key upcoming dates

London Assembly Plenary – LOCOG & ODA 12th November 2008

IOC Plenary Meeting 19th November 2008

Olympic City Handover 24th August 2008

Stanford 20-20 Challenge Oct 25th – Nov 1st

Champions T20 League 29th Sept – 8th Oct, 2008

Murad Qureshi AM

Murad is a Labour Assembly Member at the Greater London Authority. He grew up in Northwest and Central London and before becoming an Assembly Member, worked in Housing and Regeneration for 15 years and a former member of the City of Westminster council (1998 – 2006). Murad is a Board Member of BRAC UK, an International NGO that is part of the BRAC family. The organisation seeks to alleviate poverty and empower the poor in the UK and abroad.

As an avid sportsman Murad enjoys cricket and football and still continues to play for local pub teams. He is a London Sports Board Member of Sport England. He has campaigned for more open spaces and playing fields in London and is looking forward to London hosting the Olympics in 2012.

For further information about the campaign please contact Jason Cross via the Contact Page.

For enquiries relating to Murad Qureshi AM, please contact:

E-mail: murad.qureshi@london.gov.uk or his office number 0207 983 4400

His website is www.muradqureshi.com and blog is blog.muradqureshi.com, from where he will doing a regular entry during the Beijing Games.

5th August 2008