Sports · Cricket · 2 hrs ago
New Zealand Cricket drops plan to launch Major League Cricket team
New Zealand Cricket has dropped its plan to launch a Major League Cricket team in the 2027 season.
The decision ends its agreement with US company True North Sports Ventures to pursue a franchise in the American league.
The governing body had considered cities including Toronto and Atlanta as possible bases.
CEO Geoff Allott said the timing was not right, despite the potential in the American market.
New Zealand Cricket said it wants to focus resources on strengthening cricket at home and improving its high-performance programme for players and teams.
It had invested no capital in the partnership before stepping back.
Major League Cricket currently has six teams and has said it plans to expand to 10.
New Zealand Cricket has ended its bid to launch a Major League Cricket franchise in the 2027 season.
The decision ends its partnership with US company True North Sports Ventures.
NZC said it would instead focus on investing in cricket and its high-performance programme in New Zealand.
Chief executive Geoff Allott said the timing was not right for the move.
NZC said it had not invested capital in the partnership.
- Who
- New Zealand Cricket, led by chief executive Geoff Allott.
- What
- NZC ended its bid to launch a Major League Cricket team and stepped back from its partnership with True North Sports Ventures.
- When
- The decision was announced on October 21, 2026.
- Where
- The proposed team would have played in the US-based Major League Cricket. NZC had considered cities including Toronto and Atlanta.
- Why
- NZC said it wanted to focus resources on strengthening cricket in New Zealand and its high-performance programme.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
NZC announced an agreement with True North Sports Ventures to pursue a Major League Cricket team.
NZC said it had ended its bid to launch a franchise in the 2027 season.
- Proposed launch
- 2027 season
- Partner
- True North Sports Ventures
- Potential host cities
- Toronto and Atlanta
- NZC capital invested
- None
- MLC teams at the time
- Six, based in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Texas and Washington DC
3 sources
What people are saying
There’s plenty of potential in the American market, however following further evaluation of the opportunity, we don’t think the timing is right for us to be taking this on.
Our immediate priority is ensuring we continue to invest in strengthening cricket in New Zealand and refining the best possible high-performance environment for our players and teams.