ICC Champions Trophy Accreditation Services by RUSHMANS Ltd
Asghar Ali Mubarak

The modern age of Cricket is nothing without proper communication with others and the role of Rushmans Ltd is no doubt much appreciate able from the last one decade. In 1998 I had my first personal experience with Rushmans Ltd. It was such a wonderful and quite helpful experience that enabled me to attend the world cup mega event in U.K. Currently I approached Rushmans Ltd for the Accreditation process although I applied it a little late but the quick and helpful response of Rushmans Ltd I was able to cover the ICC Champion Trophy in India for my professional commitments.
Now days, I personally think that the Indian media and the worldwide cricket website have reported criticism over the accreditation arrangements for the ICC Champions Trophy 2006 in India that is totally wrong and baseless. According to my opinion and observation I think the services of Rushmans Ltd are not only in past but still are remarkable.
In particular, Niranjan Shah, secretary of the BCCI, suggested that the International Cricket Council had been at fault for contracting Rushmans to handle accreditation for officials.
Rushmans feels proud to have been contracted by the ICC to provide accreditation services for the Champions Trophy. It continues a long-standing relationship which has seen us provide accreditation for cricket events around the world including ICC Cricket World Cups in South Africa and England and two previous Champions Trophy tournaments in England and Sri Lanka. We are also responsible for accreditation and other services at next year's ICC Cricket World Cup in the West Indies.
Our appointment by the ICC was based on our proven ability to deliver the best possible service at events around the World. We have worked on over 500 events in more than 30 countries. Our projects have included three IRB Rugby World Cups, the UEFA Euro 96 Soccer Championships, as well as many other sporting and non-sporting events, where effective accreditation is of paramount importance to security and event management. Although the company has an office in the UK - not in London - its sphere of operation is truly global.
The role of accreditation is to ensure that those needing access to secure areas at an event - whether they are competitors, journalists, officials, VIPs or contractors - have the access they require to undertake their tasks. By the same token, it is also necessary for practical, safety and security reasons, to restrict access to certain areas.
The ICC's Anti Corruption and Security Unit have a policy of restricting access to the dressing room areas and Rushmans is instructed to issue passes according to this policy. As the vast majority of officials are not permitted to be in these areas, access is limited accordingly.
At a time of heightened awareness of security issues around the world I am sure we would all agree that this is more important than ever. Equally, against this background, I am sure that people will understand that it would be foolhardy and impractical to weaken the accreditation procedure by splitting it.
Rushmans role is to devise and deliver accreditation programmes in conjunction with and on behalf of our clients - in this case the International Cricket Council.
A multi-venue international event such as the ICC Champions Trophy or World Cup presents a different set of accreditation criteria from those usually faced by a Board more accustomed to dealing with bi-lateral tours in which the same basic parties of players, officials and media travel from venue to venue. By their very nature these events are significantly less complex and the security requirements less onerous.
Despite the complexities of the current operation, involving four venues over a limited time period, and despite many, many late requests for accreditation, Rushmans staff are acquitting themselves outstandingly well on the ground in India and the ICC has received much positive feedback from journalists, both local and international. It should be noted that the service being provided is at a significantly smaller cost than the one quoted by Mr Shah in the Indian media.
The ICC, in common with other Governing Bodies, Federations and Sports Bodies staging “World Events” retain the ultimate control of their Accreditation authorisation process.
The ICC Champions Trophy is a world event owned and delivered by the International Cricket Council which naturally applies global standards to all elements of its operation.
I pray that the Rushmans keep contributing their services to the success of the event and remains committed to ensure that reflects well on the host country.