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How can I watch the Cricket World Cup in Switzerland?

The Cricket World Cup is being hosted in India this year, lasting over a month from October 5th to November 19th. How can you follow the tournament if you live in Switzerland?

Afghanistan's Azmatullah Omarzai (L) celebrates after taking the wicket of New Zealand's Will Young (R) during the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup one-day international (ODI) match between New Zealand and Afghanistan in Chennai on October 18, 2023.
Afghanistan's Azmatullah Omarzai (L) celebrates after taking the wicket of New Zealand's Will Young (R) during the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup one-day international (ODI) match between New Zealand and Afghanistan in Chennai on October 18, 2023. Photo by R.Satish BABU / AFP

When and where is the World Cup taking place?

India is 3 hours and 30 minutes ahead of Switzerland, meaning that matches start between 6am and 10.30am, Swiss time.

This is the world cup in One Day International (ODI) cricket, meaning that there will be only two innings, with each inning lasting a maximum of 50 overs.

With games lasting up to nine hours, however, you should still be able to catch some of the action even on work days.

There are 10 countries participating – India, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, England, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands and Australia – playing a total of 48 matches.

READ ALSO: Where can I watch the Rugby World Cup in Switzerland?

When do matches start?

One match will be played per day until November 12th (apart from November 4th and November 11th, where two matches will be played). The semi-finals will take place on November 15th and 16th, and the final will start at 9.30am on Sunday November 19th.

Until October 29th, almost all matches start at 10.30am Swiss time, apart from two matches starting at 7am on October 21st (Netherlands vs Sri Lanka) and October 27th (Australia vs New Zealand).

From October 30th until the final on November 19th, matches will instead start at 9.30am, with a couple of exceptions – New Zealand vs Pakistan on November 4th, and Australia vs Bangladesh on November 11th, which will both start at 6am Swiss time.

Can I watch it on Swiss TV?

Unfortunately not. Cricket is not a hugely popular sport in Switzerland, although there is a national cricket association, called Cricket Switzerland. It is associated with over 30 clubs and schools, and has more than 750 registered senior and 600 junior cricketers.

Swiss broadcasters like SRF will be summing up the action of the Cricket World Cup in their regular reports. But it doesn’t appear that Switzerland’s regular sport streaming services are broadcasting the matches. That means your best bet is to find somewhere you can stream them using a VPN.

With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your device, meaning you can access the matches on a foreign streaming service.

The bad news is you may need to shell out for a subscription to a foreign sports service on top of potentially paying for a VPN, and you should be aware that some of these services will actively try and block any VPN users, so it’s worth considering the risk that your stream of choice may not work before you hand over your credit card details.

Is it legal to use a VPN to stream sports broadcast abroad?

It is legal in Switzerland to use a VPN, as is the case in most European countries, but it depends on the intended use. Is isn’t legal if you’re using it for anything that wouldn’t be permitted if you weren’t using the VPN. As such, you should bear in mind that it might violate the terms of service of the streaming service you’re using.

Is there anywhere I can watch it without using a VPN?

Some of The Local’s readers have recommended Indian streaming site YuppTV, which offers a Cricket World Cup package for €24.99.

Posts from cricket fans on social media seem to suggest that YuppTV’s World Cup package offers video quality of around 720p and includes adverts.

We can’t verify whether this website will work in Switzerland or not, and there are some negative reviews for YuppTV on Trustpilot from people who have had login problems with the World Cup package specifically, so try it at your own risk.

What about pubs or restaurants?

The early starts for many games, as well as the fact cricket is not a big sport in Switzerland, mean that few pubs or restaurants will be showing them. But you could try contacting your local sports bar, English pub or Irish bar to ask if they’d be willing to show part of the matches taking place within standard opening hours.

We also found reviews for the Oliver Twist pub in Zurich, saying it shows cricket games.

Establishments are more likely to show a match if you have a group of friends who would be interested in watching a particular match and if there’s no other major sport fixture on that day, but it’s worth getting in touch and asking them. 

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SWITZERLAND EXPLAINED

Why are so many international sporting organisations based in Switzerland?

Switzerland has been rocked by the news that FIFA has amended its rules to allow the possible moving of its headquarters from Zurich. However, it’s hardly the only international sporting organisation based in Switzerland. Why is that the case? 

Why are so many international sporting organisations based in Switzerland?

Swiss media reports that FIFA laid the groundwork for a potential exit from the city via a vote held Friday, May 17th, during the body’s congress in Bangkok, that changed its governing statutes. 

Despite this move, FIFA has announced it’s ‘happy’ to remain in Zurich.

Even after a potential departure, Switzerland would still claim to be the world’s centre for sports.

In all over 70 organisations overseeing international sports have headquarters in the country. 

Of course, the most famous is the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which was founded in Lausanne by Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, in 1915. 

READ MORE: What is the secret to Switzerland’s Olympic success?

In the century that followed, several other organisations related to the Olympics and the governing bodies of several popular sports have also based themselves in the lakeside city. 

The World Archery Federation, the International Boxing Association, European Gymnastics, World Triathlon, and several other bodies are based in Lausanne, which is close to the IOC. 

Lausanne is also home to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which seeks to mediate sporting disputes. At the same time, the World Anti-Doping Agency was headquartered there until 2002. 

Outside of Lausanne, the International Ice Hockey Federation is headquartered in Zurich. Basketball’s peak body, FIBA, is based in Basel, as is Europe’s football governing body, UEFA. 

An attractive base

Switzerland is the logical base for world sporting associations for the same reasons international diplomatic and scientific bodies such as the United Nations, the International Red Cross, and the World Health Organisation call the country home. 

First and foremost, Switzerland is the world’s oldest completely neutral country, recognised as such by the international community in 1815. It is not allied with any other significant power. It has stayed out of all the major world conflicts of the twentieth century. 

Switzerland also enjoys an attractive location at Europe’s ‘crossroads’, centrally located and with land borders adjoining several European powers. 

With four official languages, operating an international body within the country is more accessible, thanks to existing linguistic resources. 

In the end, however, money talks. 

The canton of Vaud, where Lausanne is located, does not tax international sporting organisations. Swiss law ostensibly treats them in much the same way as amateur sporting clubs.

There are no requirements to publish financial records, and there are very few other statutes to which they must adhere in their day-to-day operations.

Of course, this has raised the spectre of corruption – in just the last few years, the International Fencing Federation, the swimming governing body FINA and the IOC have been scrutinised over alleged bribes, kickbacks and links to Russian oligarchs. 

Most notably, FIFA itself was the centre of a corruption scandal in  involving its former head, Sepp Blatter, in 2015, 

While the Swiss government has yet to respond with legal changes to help preserve its image, some organisations are already working to prevent scrutiny. 

Most notably, the IOC and related bodies began publishing their financial accounts in 2015, while FIFA introduced a new ‘Code of Ethics’ last year. 

Several individuals also thought to be linked to bribes have also been disqualified from serving with their assoicated organisations. 

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