ISSUE No 11
Part 2
The Hybrid Ownership Model: Equity + Membership
A shared project: boards, investors, partners, and fans each carrying a piece of the future.
If we accept that West Indies cricket needs something bold to reset its financial future, then the question becomes: what does that look like?
This isn’t about pretending to have a perfect blueprint. It’s about laying out ideas, testing them in public, and asking: could this work?
One possible solution is a hybrid model where some stakeholders hold equity, and fans drive revenue through membership.
Equity Holders
Regional Boards would keep their role as guardians of heritage. With a golden share in hand, they would have veto power on matters of identity i.e. the team name, the anthem, grassroots funding.
Institutional Investors would provide scale. They bring in private equity, sports funds, or regional banks who can help professionalise the business and secure long-term capital.
Strategic Partners — Think airlines, rum brands, tourism boards, betting companies . Their sponsorship dollars would now be tied directly to the success of West Indies cricket, creating deeper alignment.
Equity Split in this Hybrid Model
Regional Boards: 35% (with golden share).
Institutional Investors: 45%.
Strategic Partners: 20%.
Instead of holding equity, fans and diaspora become members, effectively season-ticket holders on a regional scale.
Membership Holders
At a flat USD $10 a month subscription , members would receive:
Guaranteed Access to all home games across the Caribbean.
Priority Allocation to away games, ensuring diaspora fans can see the West Indies when they tour nearby.
Members’ Forum where fans can engage directly with administrators and players.
Member-Elected Board Seats (one or two), ensuring that even without equity, the fans’ voice is heard at the highest level.
Now let’s talk scale.
The cricket-playing population of the West Indies is roughly 3.8 million. If just 5% — 190,000 people — signed up at USD $10 per month, that’s over USD $20 million annually.
That figure is larger than anything an equity sale to fans would realistically raise. It also creates recurring revenue instead of a one-time injection, making the fan base the single most powerful revenue driver in the model.
This approach recognises that fans don’t just want to “own” cricket in the Caribbean they want to experience it. By combining equity ownership with membership power, the model protects heritage, attracts serious investment, and unlocks the passion of the diaspora in a financially meaningful way.
The big question is: would people sign up? Is there enough trust, pride, and belief in West Indies cricket for 190,000 people to commit $10 a month?
That’s the conversation worth having.
In Part 3, we’ll look at how this structure translates into real-world revenue streams and how every stakeholder, whether an investor, a partner, or a fan, could see a return on their commitment.
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