The World Cricketers’ Association (WCA) through its commercial affiliate, Winners Alliance, has partnered with Jetsynthesys-owned Nautilus Mobile’s mobile cricket simulation game Real Cricket. The partnership will bring the names, images, and likenesses of more than 250 professional cricketers to the game as granted by Winners Alliance.
The game allows users to compete in a variety of game modes and competition formats including quick matches, international and domestic tournaments, 1v1 multiplayer, play-with-friends multiplayer, and more.
Real Cricket players will be able to play with their a wide range of cricketers, including Australian players, England’s Joe Root and Ben Stokes; New Zealand’s Kane Williamson; South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada; and the West Indies’ Chris Gayle and Andre Russell; along with hundreds of other cricketing stars. By granting their rights through Winners Alliance, cricketers will benefit from incremental off-the-field revenues and increased visibility among the game’s hundreds of millions of global users as claimed by the official press release.
Nautilus Mobile director & CEO Anuj Mankar said, “We are always looking for new ways to enhance the gaming experience for our ultra passionate users. By adding the likenesses of these global real cricket stars via the WCA and Winners Alliance, we’re bringing a level of authenticity and excitement that can’t be found anywhere else, making Real Cricket an unrivalled experience for cricket fans and gamers worldwide.”
Australian cricketer Mitchell Starc said, “This is an incredible opportunity for us cricketers and breaks new ground in our sport. It’s amazing to see the WCA looking out for us and helping us unlock these unique possibilities by collectivising our commercial rights through our new partners at Winners Alliance. We’ve seen how athletes in other sports have benefited from similar initiatives, and we’re excited to see how Real Cricket and future partnerships will drive value for athletes and elevate cricket as a whole.”
WCA chief executive Tom Moffat stated, “We are thrilled to work with Nautilus Mobile to bring this groundbreaking, officially licensed opportunity to cricketers affiliated to WCA, increasing their off-field earning potential, visibility, and fan engagement. By leveraging their collective global rights, this is the first time in professional cricket history that hundreds of players worldwide can participate in a collaboration like this. This partnership is a great example of the innovative, player-centric initiatives we aim to pioneer with our partners at Winners Alliance, and also driving new value into the cricket ecosystem.”
In January of 2024, Winners Alliance and the WCA forged an exclusive, long-term partnership to protect and optimise the global commercial rights of cricketers, emulating the successful model of players associations in other sports.
WCA is the world players’ body in cricket. Established (as FICA) in 1998, it is a democratic player-driven organisation that focuses on the issues faced by the world’s professional cricketers and the sport itself.
Winners Alliance is a global, athlete-centric commercial organisation that creates novel group licensing, sponsorship, partnership, content, investment and event opportunities for global athletes collectively. Launched in August 2022, Winners Alliance serves as the for-profit affiliate of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), World Cricketers’ Association (WCA), EuroLeague Players Association (ELPA), and Grand Slam Track, and represents the group commercial rights of hundreds of athletes worldwide.
