While it lost its official status at the start of the year, France Cricket, the former governing body of the discipline, decided to field a senior men's team during an international tournament in Portugal. An initiative contrary to the law warned the Ministry of Sports with the risk of civil and criminal prosecution for those responsible for the federation.

Published on: 04/08/2026 - 9:35 p.m. Modified on: 04/09/2026 - 11:06 a.m.

French fans rarely miss an opportunity to proudly celebrate the “blue, white and red” jersey of their football teams, rugby teams or even those of their Olympic athletes. But when a contested “French team” showed up at the Santarem Cricket Ground in Portugal on Sunday, few in France supported it – not even the government.

The French Ministry of Sports confirmed in a press release sent to France 24 that the France Cricket association no longer had official status since January 1 and was therefore "not legally authorized, under French law, to organize official national competitions, to award national titles or to designate national teams."

And yet, French players were very present at this International Cricket Council tournament which runs until Thursday April 9.

The official status of French cricket's governing body was an agreement with the French Baseball and Softball Federation (FFBS), which expired at the end of last year.

The website of the International Cricket Council (ICC) – the world governing body of this sport – specifies that France must benefit from government recognition to be able to become a member. A France Cricket history that has not been updated since 2016 states: “France Cricket had to rejoin the FFBS… in order to comply with ICC requirements regarding government recognition.”

The financial stakes are high for France Cricket, which must receive $560,000 in development funds from the ICC for the period 2026-2027.

“No ministerial approval”

France Cricket has long aspired to become an independent federation, freed from the supervision of the FFBS and officially recognized by both the French government and the ICC.

The latest agreement concluded between France Cricket and the FFBS for the period from December 1, 2022 to December 31, 2025, signed by the president of France Cricket, Prebagarane Balane, indicates that the association must obtain approval from the Ministry of Sports before being able to claim the status of an independent federation: "Obtaining the ministerial approval referred to in article L.131-8 of the Sports Code is a mandatory prerequisite." According to a report from a meeting of its steering committee on January 30, approval has still not been given to France Cricket. However, during another meeting on March 13, in the presence of Jubaid Ahamed, president of the French National Teams Committee, the body affirmed: "The approval procedure or the ministerial delegation have no impact on the ability of France Cricket to organize federal competitions."

France Cricket is talking about the formation of three national teams: the men will go on tour to Portugal, the women will start training at the beginning of April and the under-19s will train every Sunday morning in Villiers-le-Bel, north of Paris.

In an e-mail addressed to people involved in the competition in Portugal, dated March 19 and consulted by France 24, Prebagarane Balane persists and signs, believing that "France Cricket is a recognized national federation and fully authorized to field a national team".

According to the specialized magazine "The Cricketer" which cites a letter from the French Ministry of Sports addressed to a club, France Cricket is not authorized to use official names such as "French Cricket Federation", "National Cricket Federation" or "French Cricket Team".

Asked by France 24, the ministry confirms that “France Cricket has neither ministerial approval nor delegation [to manage cricket]”.

Also read: Ghost matches, opaque finances: the controversial practices of the French Cricket Association

The difference game

However, on April 5 – during the kick-off of the “T20” series (a short format of cricket matches) between France, Portugal and Norway – the word “France” appeared prominently on the tricolor kit of the senior men’s team. The French flag and the logo representing a rooster also appeared on caps and jerseys. The results of the matches have been scrupulously added to France's prize list on the official ICC website, under the French flag and the name "France". However, the matches broadcast on YouTube showed a notable difference: France was referred to as the "France XI", in reference to the 11 players of a cricket team. A person linked to the organization of the tournament confirmed that France Cricket had requested to field its team under this name.

“The fact of organizing international competitions knowing that the legal framework is broken constitutes a management error on the part of the manager,” assures Jim Michel-Gabriel, lawyer in Paris and specialist in sports law.

“High” legal risks

By losing its affiliation with the FFBS, France Cricket also finds itself without a federal insurance contract, he indicates. The players who entered the field in Portugal therefore did so without cover in the event of injury.

"For lack of approval, the association can no longer guarantee practitioners bodily injury coverage that complies with the standards of the Sports Code. In the event of a disaster, the absence of specific guarantees 'outside delegation' could lead the association to insolvency in the face of heavy compensation claims.", specifies Jim Michel-Gabriel.

Management is also exposed to personal civil liability for having organized national or international competitions "without the legal shield of a delegated federation, or even criminal liability", he concludes.

Under the Sports Code, “the administrator or manager of any legal entity” who uses official names without authorization is liable to a fine of 7,500 euros.

See alsoExclusive: French cricket facing a ghost match scandal

"It would be very surprising if, in the absence of an official delegation [...], 'France cricket' or 'France “France Cricket is thus exposed to a range of converging legal risks, mainly criminal and institutional, linked to the exercise of prerogatives reserved for delegated federations.”

Furthermore, these practices can compromise France Cricket's chances of obtaining official recognition, believes the lawyer.

According to an initial analysis, Isabelle Wekstein-Steg, a lawyer specializing in sports law at the Parisian firm WAN Avocats, estimated that the use of the name "France However, she clarified that a court could recognize an infringement to the extent that the team is presented as a national team, regardless of its name.

In Portugal, ICC bonuses were also at stake. The governing body of world cricket considers all matches played between associate members to be ranked international matches: good results allow you to climb the rankings, while poor results result in a drop. The top 60 nations in the men's ranking are paid: "France" occupied 52nd place before the start of the tournament, a ranking worth $13,500 in bonuses. This amount was halved in 55th place, where the team found itself after two defeats on the first day. But this source of funding remains modest for an ICC member, whose total budget is around $900,000.

However, “France” has another competition in its sights. The team is set to try their luck in the European qualifiers for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2028, scheduled from May 16 to 23 in Cyprus, according to an ICC press release.

Occupying the void Facing France Cricket, a potential rival had come forward to run for management of the discipline in France – the multi-sport federation ASPTT – but withdrew its candidacy, fearing having to assume such responsibility before having obtained the support of the ICC.

In its press release sent to France 24 on March 25, the Ministry of Sports indicated that no federation had yet obtained the delegation for cricket as of January 1. The sport therefore no longer has any recognized authority in France and dozens of clubs across the country could soon find it difficult to obtain funding.

Neither the ICC nor France Cricket responded to our requests for comment. Based on a source within the ICC, The Cricketer reported that the matches would retain their status as official international T20s. In a press release dated January 9, France Cricket declared for its part that no national or international authority had published a decision "withdrawing or modifying" its delegation, and that it had submitted a request for ministerial approval in August 2025. "No ministerial decision calls into question either the recognition of France Cricket or its current management of the discipline."

On its Instagram page, it now says “French Cricket Association”. The mention “French Federation” has disappeared.

Article translated from English by Grégoire Sauvage. The original can be found here.

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