Cricket Emerges as Canada’s Fastest Growing Sport, Research Reveals | Spare News
Cricket has taken the lead, leaving all other sports behind. It seems cricket has become Canada’s most watched sport. Sports like the Stanley Cup Finals, the Super Bowl and the MLB World Series have been left in the running, according to CulturaliQ, an agency that has conducted in-depth research by surveying more than five million cricket fans.
Brampton may be home to a cricket stadium which could also be a testament to this reality as spectators, often fueled by South Asian, West Indian/Black fans, bring in the numbers for the sport. The recent wave of immigration also contributes to this development.
“For a global brand, there is an incredible opportunity to connect with Canada’s fastest growing ethnic community, South Asian newcomers, simply by acknowledging their passion for sport, cricket,” said John Stevenson, study director and founder of CulturaliQ.
The study also found that cricket, like other sports including hockey, baseball and soccer, is often watched in a group setting and 77% of South Asian respondents watch games as a family and make it a special event. The number of registered cricketers in Canada is 38,186 playing around 5500 games nationwide. Cricket fans, 82% of South Asians and 62% of Black population have multiple college degrees.
Raza Akmal, who moved to Canada 15 years ago, shared that cricket is an important part of his life and regularly hosts screenings at home.
“My friends, mostly of South Asian descent, and I often get together to watch series and games, and I put on a screening when it’s time for the finals. We bring food and have our parties with our families while watching the game,” he said.
Being home to North America’s largest community cricket league with 4000 registered players, Brampton can also mean that big business is raked in.
Milton’s population is ethnically diverse. According to the 2016 census, South Asians (20.8 percent of the population) are among the prominent ethnic groups.
“Milton will benefit from this stadium as we are not far from Brampton,” said Fiaz Ahmad, founding member of Milton Cricket Club.
“The cost per game of Indian Premier League rights ranks second behind the NFL at around 600 million viewers,” said Jason Harper, cricket fan and co-lead of the study.
Stevenson has a long personal association with the sport, having played on school and club teams as a youngster. His passion for this project was also fueled by a gap in knowledge about cricket fans in Canada and the huge marketing potential for brands that effectively target these consumers.
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