MCO of Cricket

The Hundred Cricket Franchises - Multi Club Ownership of Cricket and their Links to Football

April 2017: ECB members voted 38-3 to start the competition however the inaugural season of The Hundred began 2021.

2024 the competition undertook a financial restructuring through a high-profile capital raise, the total sale of minority or majority stakes within the eight Hundred cricket franchises was £550m, taking the total value of the eight franchises to around £975m.

This article looks at the new stake holders and their links to other 20/20 cricket franchises, sporting organisations and football clubs.

Collectively they own

• x1 Premier League Club

• x1 English Football League Club

• x1 Indian Super League Football Club (ISL)

• Football Indian Super League

• x4 Indian Premier League (IPL) Cricket Franchises

• x2 Women IPL Franchises

• x1 Major League Cricket (MLC), USA

• x3 MLC Cricket Franchises

• x4 South African Cricket Franchises

• x2 UAE Cricket Franchises 

London Spirit 

• Todd Boehly & Utd co-owner Avram Glazer both tried to buy the Spirit

• Based at Lord’s, achieved a valuation of £295 million following a 49% stake was aqquired by a Silicon Valley tech consortium (consisting of 11 tech billonaires) for £145m.

• Satyan Gajwani & Satya Nadella who are the Co-founders of the new USA 20/20 competition Major League Cricket,

Trent Rockets 

• Todd Boehly (Chelsea FC co-owner) purchased 49% for £38m

• Acquired through Cain International a company he co-owns with fellow Chelsea board member Jonathan Goldstein

• Todd Boehly also has stakes in Strasbourg, Lakers, Dodgers and Sparks

• Cain International AuM equal $16bn

Birmingham Phoenix

• Knighthead Capital Management (KCM) which Tom Brady is a partner purchased 49% for £40m 

• Tom Wagner formed Knighthead Annuity L.A.C in 2008 & in 2014 formed a subsidiary KCM, AuM $9bn

• Tom Brady & Tom Wagner through KCM own

  • Birmingham City FC

  • Motorsport, Electric Boat teams

  • Brady owns a stake in WNBA Las Vegas Aces

Oval Invincible's 

• Ambani Family acquired 49% for £60m

• Ambani (Anil, Mukesh & Nita) are considered one of India richest families, Net-worth £100bn

• Reliance Sports Ventures a subsidiary owned by the Ambani family owns

  • Mubai Indians, IPL & WPL franchises

  • MI Cape Town, SA

  • MI Emirates, UAE

  • MI New York, USA

Indian Football

• Ambani Family co created Indian Super League (ISL) in 2013 and owns 65% of the league

• Mukesh Ambani serves as the chair for Football Sports Development Limited which operates the ISL &  is responsible for coach selection and marketing requirements for the whole ISL

Manchester Originals 

• The RPSG Group, led by Sanjiv Goenka acquired (70%) for £81m

• Sanjiv Goenka RPSG Group Networth $7bn, & owns

  • Lucknow Super Giants, IPL

  • Durban Super Giants, SA

  • Mohun Bagan Football Club, Indian Super League

Northern Superchargers 

• The Sun Group, an Indian media conglomerate owned by Kalanithi Maran acquired 100% for £100m

• Purchased both the ECB's 49% and Yorkshire County Cricket Club's 51% stake, also own

  • Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL

  • Sunrisers Eastern Cape, SA

Welsh Fire

• Sanjay Govil is an Indian-American tech acquired 49% for £33m

• Founder and Chairman of Infinite Computer Solutions, annual turnover £2bn

• Sanjay owns USA / MLC franchise Washington Freedom

Southern Brave 

• GMR Group paid £48m for 49%

• GMR Group through its subsidiary GMR Global Pte Ltd (GGPL), 2024 acquired 53% for £43m in Hampshire Sport & Leisure Holdings Limited, the parent company of Hampshire Cricket.

• GMR Group co-founder is G.M. Rao, net worth $3.43bn, also owns

  • Delhi Capitals, IPL & WPL franchises

  • Dubai Capitals, UAE

  • Pretoria Capitals, SA

  • Seattle Orcas, USA / MLC

New investors will assume control over franchise-specific revenue channels starting in 2026, including sponsorship, merchandise, and hospitality.

The ECB will continue managing centralized broadcast rights, with teams receiving 80% of domestic and international TV revenues—a structure modeled after the IPL.

Current broadcast deals with Sky Sports (£51 million annually) and the BBC are slated for renegotiation in 2028, with projections suggesting a fourfold increase in international rights revenue by 2032

The ECB has signalled openness to expansion:

• Ninth and tenth franchises could be introduced post-2028, targeting underrepresented regions like the Northeast