What We Do
Our objectives
Cricket has a long tradition in the Netherlands. For several reasons the game has not risen to large-scale and players with a Dutch background are declining in numbers.
Yet with the society becoming more diverse and the children and parents looking for alternatives to sports like football and field hockey it is clear that with the right stimulation cricket could grow and remain as a sports providing the benefits of the culture and complexity the game has to offer.
The current structure of cricket in the Netherlands based purely on club membership is suffering from competition of other sports and hobbies like computer games and social media, hence it will need to innovate itself yet this is hard to achieve for the clubs already struggling for numbers.
For this reason the founders of the Dutch Cricket Development Foundation have set up the foundation to acquire funds and apply them to initiatives that will help the clubs innovate and grow and improve the structure of cricket in the Netherlands, of course collaborating with the Dutch Cricket Council and other organisations that stimulate cricket development.
The focus of the Dutch Cricket Development Foundation will be on youth and ladies cricket and try to support the coordination, facilitation and coaching of cricket activities. Yet in the wider scope it is already anticipated that it will not be limited to cricket alone as collaboration with initiatives that have larger scale and can help improve the health of young players will be considered for financial support as well.
Within the network of the Dutch Cricket Development Foundation any organisation that executes activities that can help innovate the cricket structure or grow the number of active players will be able to apply for support and typically initiatives that have a sustainable future will be supported in parts under the guidelines below.
Funding guidelines
Initiatives targeting the development of youth cricket and/or ladies cricket in The Netherlands or initiatives benefiting those target groups can apply for funding by submitting a proposal explaining the executables, timeline and budget. The foundation will typically respond within two weeks for further requirements and an additional month for approval or rejection. Each proposal will be dealt with on its own merits yet some guiding principles are used by the board to determine allocation of funds.
Allocation Guiding Principles
Coaching coaches
50% sponsored, 25% academy/institute and 25% coacheeFacilities
75% sponsored, 25% academy/instituteCoaching
75% sponsored, 25% academy/instituteMaterials
50% sponsored, 50% academy/instituteMarketing
50% sponsored, 50% academy/instituteBackoffice
Central contact for operational excellence
Discounted admin for planning and financeFounders
Rashid Shah
Rashid came to Netherlands in the year 2000 to pursue his masters. After finishing his studies he joined Optiver ( market making firm) as their first IT professional, he is still part of Optiver family and serves as Managing Director at Optiver Foundation.
Along side his professional career at Optiver , Rashid has always been involved with Dutch cricket as a player and as an advisor.
Richard Wolfe
Richard is fascinated with how we create technology to increase our productivity and then often seem to achieve the opposite. He has a passion for finding easy ways to make technology work for us rather than against us.
Alongside the corporate training industry Richard is involved with cricket in the Netherlands at club, academy and council level.
