Belgian Cricket Federation
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| Sport | Cricket |
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| Jurisdiction | Belgium |
| Abbreviation | BCF |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Affiliation | International Cricket Council |
| Affiliation date | 1991 (affiliate member) 2005 (associate member) |
| Regional affiliation | ICC Europe |
| Headquarters | Gent, East Flanders |
| Official website | |
| cricket-belgium |
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The Belgian Cricket Federation (BCF), currently branded as Cricket Belgium, is the governing body of the sport of cricket in Belgium. Founded in 1990, the organisation has been a member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1991, and is also a member of the European Cricket Council (ECC) and the Belgian Olympic Committee. Its headquarters are in Edegem, a municipality in the province of Antwerp. A previous national governing body had been established in the early 20th century, but fell away during the Second World War.
In one of those curious twists of history, this actually pre-dates Belgium itself by some 16 years. British Guards officers performed the honours, playing a match shortly before the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Matches have been played to mark the 150th, 175th and 200th anniversaries of this occasion. The first record of organized cricket, however, can be found in a painting (left) dated 1870 which now hangs in the Pavilion at Lord”s.
Registered under Belgian law as a non-profit organization and operating as Cricket Belgium, it is the second Belgian Cricket Federation. The first was formed in the early 1900s and disappeared on the death of its long-term official Comte Joseph d’Oultremont in October 1942. No records have been found. Formed again in 1990, Belgium gained the status of an affiliate member of the ICC in 1991. The present Belgian Cricket Federation was a founding member of the European Cricket Council (ECC) and is now an Associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Belgian Olympic and Inter-federal Committee (BOIC).
Although cricket is thought to have originated in what is now Belgium in about the 14th century, the first recorded match was played at Enghien six days before the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Given below is how Belgian cricket has defined its Mission Statement
As the governing body of cricket in Belgium we serve the Belgian Cricket community by providing high quality opportunities for playing cricket, providing cricket development opportunities for all ages, provide targeted performance based support to member clubs, promote the game of Cricket in the different regions of Belgium, deliver ‘major’ cricketing events with an organized and competitive cricket league, is open to all irrespective of age, gender, ethnicity or disability and provide a social environment that welcomes playing members and non-playing enthusiasts alike.
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