The Hundred League has caught the attention of the world as the league is increasingly catching heat in the West. The England Cricket Board is inviting investors to buy stakes in the eight franchises of The Hundred, with a three-month process set to kickstart in September. Several prominent names from the world of sports and Hollywood have expressed their interest in investing in the England-born league.
Hollywood & NFL Stars Want To Invest In The Hundred
Among the notable names, Hollywood and Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney, and the Glazer family have reportedly considered investing in the league. Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have met with ECB officials and are invited to this summer’s cricket matches. The Welsh Fire is one of the less expensive teams to buy, with half of the franchise valued at around £20 million. Since buying Wrexham three years ago, Reynolds and McElhenney have achieved two promotions and gained global fame through the documentary ‘Welcome to Wrexham’.
The ECB has also talked to the owners of all the 10 Indian Premier League franchises to grab their interest.
Apart from the IPL owners, ECB has also reached out to NFL team owners in a bid to capitalize on any buzz from the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2024, which was co-hosted by the USA. In fact, NFL star Tom Brady has also shown his interest in getting associated with the league.
Stuart Broad has also shown his keen interest in investing in The Hundred
Now joining the league, former England pacer, Stuart Broad has also shown his keen interest in investing in The Hundred. Expressing his interest in investing in The Hundred, Stuart Broad said:
“Nottinghamshire are a club I’ve represented for a long period of time, so any opportunity to be around Nottingham and this ground would interest me. I think it is the natural next step, to get some private investment. To grow the game. I’ve been lucky enough to go over to the SA20 and see how the private investment has worked. The Hundred is going to be important for the ECB going forwards,”
He added: “You can see how much the IPL has done for the BCCI and Indian cricket and the quality of the cricketer that India are churning out in the short format style. Ultimately, from a players’ point of view, you set these tournaments up to improve your international team’s quality, the pathway coming through, to mean that England have successful men’s and women’s teams going forward,”
“Giving exposure to players in pressurized tournaments is really important – and when you bring private investment into teams it only adds more pressure, in a good way, because your expectancy goes up. The owners of the team will expect a certain level of performance and if their mindset is to go and win the tournament and you don’t… it always builds that level of expectancy that you get that international cricket.”