Chasing Glory 2026-2036: Yorkshire CCC Strategy

Chasing Glory 2026-2036 has three strategic pillars that will guide our long-term ambitions

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Ask the Chair

Following the launch of the Chasing Glory strategy, the Club established the Ask the Chair mailbox to give members the opportunity to ask questions and share their views. We’ve since received a wide range of thoughtful questions and have responded to as many as possible directly.

This page will be updated regularly as new questions are received.

• Chasing Glory is a fine strategy, but the devil is always in the detail. When will a more detailed plan be available that sets out when and how the strategy will be put into action?

Chasing Glory sets out the Club’s long-term ambition and direction of travel for Yorkshire CCC over the next decade. Sitting behind the strategy is a detailed framework of operational priorities, performance targets and phased action plans that will continue to evolve over time.

At this stage, the strategy is intentionally directional rather than overly prescriptive, as we want to continue working with members and stakeholders to help shape the future direction of the Club.

A number of workstreams are already underway, including facilities planning, community engagement, performance pathways, and venue master planning, all of which will continue to develop in phases over the coming years.

We are committed to reporting progress and ensuring the Club remains accountable to members, supporters, and stakeholders. That will include updates on delivery, key milestones and how plans continue to evolve in response to opportunities and challenges.

The intention is for Chasing Glory to provide a clear and measurable roadmap for how Yorkshire CCC develops both on and off the field over the next ten years.

We will continue to share further detail as this work progresses.

• What would demutualisation mean in practice? Does it mean that members will no longer own the club?

Changing the structure of the Club by demutualisation requires careful consideration, but I do believe this change is essential to help protect the long-term future of Yorkshire CCC.

In practical terms, demutualisation would involve the Club converting from a society registered under the Cooperative and Community Benefit Societies Act into a private company limited by shares. Under the current structure, each member holds a 5p share in the Club, meaning the Club is member-owned, although those shares cannot be transferred and no dividend or financial return is paid.

Under a private company structure, members would become shareholders and, whilst proposals for what this would look like post-demutualisation, over time, the company may, with shareholder approval, adopt different corporate structures, including different classes of shares and associated rights.

The next phase of work will focus on assessing potential post-conversion structures. Our objective will be to find the best possible structure for members – one that protects appropriate rights and safeguards around the matters members care most deeply about – while also enabling the Club to attract the investment required to redevelop Headingley and deliver the ambitions set out within the Chasing Glory strategy.

We remain committed to keeping members informed throughout the process and welcome continued feedback, input, and questions as this work progresses. 

• The business models operated by Hampshire, Durham and Northamptonshire were noted at the recent launch meeting. Durham is now operating as a Community Interest Company. Is this kind of structure under consideration?

We have considered a range of possible structures and ownership models as part of this process. However, a CIC (Community Interest Company) structure is not considered appropriate for Yorkshire CCC going forward.

The scale of the Club’s ambitions, including the redevelopment of Headingley and the wider delivery of the Chasing Glory strategy, requires a structure capable of attracting significant long-term investment. A CIC model is generally more suited to organisations operating primarily as social enterprises and without the same requirement for external capital investment and commercial flexibility.

We have significant ambitions for Yorkshire CCC over the coming years and therefore need a structure that gives the Club the best opportunity to deliver against those ambitions while securing a sustainable long-term future.

In relation to the future ownership structure, the detail has not yet been finalised. The next phase of work will focus on assessing potential post-conversion structures and share models.

Our objective will be to find a structure that protects the interests of members and preserves appropriate rights and safeguards, while also enabling the Club to attract the investment required to redevelop Headingley and deliver the long-term strategy.

The detail of any proposed structure, including shareholder classes and associated voting rights, will be shared with members well in advance of any future vote on demutualisation.

The Club remains committed to keeping members informed throughout the process and we welcome continued feedback, input, and questions as this work progresses.

• What assessment has the board made of the possibility of funding development through a subsidiary company – a model similar to that used by Barcelona and Bayern Munich – while still maintaining overall accountability to members?

The Board did consider the establishment of a private limited company subsidiary, wholly owned by the Club, as a potential vehicle to raise investment and funding for redevelopment. (Headingley Investments Limited has already been incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Club with the management of strategic investments in mind.)

However, it was ultimately determined that raising investment through a subsidiary structure would be unlikely to prove sufficiently attractive to potential investors, given any investment would still sit beneath and ultimately be governed and controlled by a members’ society as the parent entity.

In practical terms, it would also likely require assets of substance — such as the ground itself – to be transferred into the subsidiary to make the structure investable or financeable. In the Board’s view, this would create unnecessary complexity from both a restructuring and tax perspective and could potentially limit the Club’s ability to benefit fully from group tax relief, depending on the structure and form of any future investment. It also presented challenges from a Financial Conduct Authority and ECB perspective – due to the requirements around the transfer of core trading assets from the society.

It is also important to recognise that the ownership and economic business models at clubs such as Barcelona and Bayern Munich are fundamentally different to Yorkshire CCC and are not directly comparable. Those structures are shaped by football-specific ownership and licensing rules that restrict privatisation, thereby necessitating subsidiary structures.

Yorkshire CCC has the opportunity to adopt a cleaner, simpler and more transparent structure through conversion from a mutual society into a single private company.

• It’s reassuring to know that the club’s financial situation has stabilised and that the remaining windfall from The Hundred sale will be ring-fenced. These two moves provide long-term confidence. A third area of interest to potential investors is clarity around ownership and title. Are you able to provide a clear statement around the club’s financial and corporate ownership structure?

The Club is currently registered as a society under the Cooperative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014. Under that structure, each member is allotted a single 5p share upon admission as a member of the Club. These shares are not transferable or withdrawable, and no interest or dividend is payable on them. When an individual ceases to be a member of the Club, including through non-renewal of membership, they relinquish that share.

The Club is able to offer different categories of membership, with associated privileges and rights determined under the Club’s rules. This includes voting rights on certain statutory and corporate matters. There are also specific legal matters, such as dissolving the Club, where all members retain voting rights under legislation.

Subject to those member rights, the day-to-day affairs and management of the Club are overseen by the Board in accordance with the Club’s rules and governance framework.

• Is Yorkshire involved in any initiatives to get state schools playing cricket?

A significant amount of this work is delivered through the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation (YCF), which leads many of the school and community programmes on behalf of Yorkshire Cricket. The Foundation’s recently launched strategy, A New Horizon, sets out a clear ambition to make cricket more accessible, inclusive, and connected to communities across the county, with schools playing an important role within that work.

YCF already delivers programmes such as Chance to Shine, which focuses on bringing cricket into state schools, increasing participation, and creating stronger links between schools and local clubs. The programme is designed to help grow the game, particularly in areas where cricket participation has declined, while creating more sustainable opportunities within state education.

This aligns closely with the Club’s wider Chasing Glory strategy and, in particular our ambition under the ‘Include’ pillar to become more connected to communities across the whole county and widen access to the game.

The approach is very much a partnership model — Yorkshire CCC supporting the broader vision and pathway ambitions, while YCF leads much of the delivery within schools and local communities. Through A New Horizon, the Foundation is also moving towards a more locally connected area-based approach, designed to strengthen relationships with schools, clubs, and community organisations across Yorkshire. 

• Having read Chasing Glory, it’s positive to see a clear, long-term ambition for Yorkshire Cricket. One area I was interested in learning more about is how Yorkshire Cricket College fits into that future vision. Doesn’t it feel like the College is a significant and perhaps under-recognised opportunity?

There is a clear recognition within the Club that the Yorkshire Cricket College has an important role to play within the wider talent and development ecosystem across the county.

From a strategic perspective, the College is very much an extension of Yorkshire CCC and aligns strongly with several aspects of the Chasing Glory strategy, particularly within the “Invest” pillar. While it undoubtedly supports cricket development and participation pathways, it also contributes to a broader ambition to diversify both routes into the game and long-term opportunities within Yorkshire cricket.

Importantly, the College is not solely focused on identifying future professional players. It also provides opportunities to develop future coaches, analysts, leaders, and ambassadors for the game. In that sense, it contributes to building a more resilient, connected, and sustainable cricket ecosystem across Yorkshire.

There is also significant value in the high-performance environment the College can help create. Through closer alignment with Yorkshire CCC’s pathway structures and coaching philosophy, students and coaches are exposed to modern coaching techniques, performance standards, and ways of working that reflect the evolving demands of elite cricket. The development of coaches within that environment is viewed as particularly important, as it helps strengthen cricket expertise and provision more broadly across the county.

To your point around aspiration, I can reassure you this is central to the Club’s thinking. The fact that young people are already choosing to invest in their own development through the College demonstrates exactly the type of ambition, commitment, and passion that the strategy seeks to harness. Strengthening those connections and ensuring students feel a genuine part of Yorkshire Cricket’s future represents a significant opportunity moving forward.

As the strategy develops, there is a clear ambition to create a more aligned and integrated county-wide system, where organisations and programmes such as the Yorkshire Cricket College play an increasingly visible and connected role within the wider Yorkshire cricket landscape.

We will continue to keep members updated as this work progresses.

• It would be great to see the club playing more matches away from Headingley. Investment, particularly in places like Sheffield, Hull and Middlesbrough, would increase support for the club “on the fringes”.

Outgrounds continue to play an important role in the Club’s identity and future ambitions. The commitment to taking cricket beyond Headingley runs throughout our long-term strategy, not simply as a logistical consideration, but as part of our wider commitment to communities across the county.

We recognise the geographical scale of Yorkshire and understand the importance of making county cricket accessible to supporters in different parts of the region. Just as importantly, exposing players to a variety of conditions and environments can play an important role in their development.

We therefore remain committed to taking cricket around Yorkshire for both the men’s and women’s first teams, and to maintaining strong relationships with venues and recreational clubs across the county.

Scarborough and York continue to play an important role within our schedule, and we are also exploring opportunities to strengthen our presence in other parts of Yorkshire, including South Yorkshire, where appropriate opportunities and facilities exist.

Alongside this, the Club and the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation are developing a long-term facilities strategy focused on supporting and strengthening cricket infrastructure across the county. The intention is not to take opportunities away from the recreational game, but to help create sustainable venues capable of hosting and supporting high-quality cricket over the long term.

We remain committed to bringing cricket to communities across Yorkshire and look forward to sharing more detail on these plans in due course.