New Zealand Makes History, First National Board to Invest in Major League Cricket

NZC Targets North American Markets for Franchise Expansion

Vijay Srinivasan and Sameer Mehta, co-founders of MLC, will head the team and will be supported by key investors like 49ers Enterprises, the financial branch of the San Francisco 49ers.

However, the name and home city of the new franchise have yet to be finalized. Cities like Atlanta, Georgia, and Toronto, Canada, are currently under consideration. This latest opportunity presents NZC with the option to invest in a second MLC franchise, targeted for 2031, with a potential franchise possibly based in Canada.

"As franchise cricket grows globally, NZC needs to adapt to seize strategic opportunities that ensure the sustainability of our cricket network," said NZC chief executive Scott Weenink.

 "This helps diversify our revenue streams, expands our global brand and fan base, and creates new talent development and retention pathways for both our players and coaches," he added.

Strategic Partnership Gears Up MLC

The Major League Cricket (MLC) was launched as a six-team T20 league in 2023 and is currently set for the third edition of the league to be held from 12 June to 13 July across venues in Dallas, Florida, and Oakland. Currently, the cricket World Cup is held in the region, and the sport is also now included in the 2028 LA Olympics. The league plans to increase the number of teams to eight in 2027 and to ten by 2031.

In a statement, TNS said: “The potential for cricket in North America is immense, and we look forward to working with NZC to deliver on both our ambitions and theirs, including broader strategic and corporate opportunities globally.”

In the Inaugural edition of the MLC, Australia’s state associates, New South Wales and Victoria, partnered with Washington Freedom and San Francisco Unicorns, respectively, in 2023, but the depth of NZC’s deal goes significantly further.

Additional Investment Plans 

Weenink, however, stresses that their investment plan would not shift attention away from game development in New Zealand. "It is additional funding and revenue, which we will then be able to invest in our high-performance community and pathways game in New Zealand," he said.

"We don't see making this investment in an overseas league as meaning we're not going to invest further in our own Super Smash or other leagues. We see this as complementary because we see it as an opportunity to generate revenue, to enable us to invest in our network, and in particular, our leagues."

We are considering investment options for our Domes League Super Smash, while keeping the option of making a fresh investment in the Big Bash League (BBL) should the tournament in Australia increase. The recent BBL structure will be reviewed to assess the future options.