| Sport | Cricket (umpiring and scoring) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1 January 2008 |
| Affiliation | England and Wales Cricket Board |
| Location | Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham |
| Chairman | Roger Knight |
| Chief Exec | Nick Cousins |
| Replaced |
ACU&S ECB Officials Association |
The Association of Cricket Officials (ACO) is an organisation set up to represent and support cricket officials, especially umpires and scorers. It operates under the auspices of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and is often referred to as the "ECB ACO" or similar. Current membership (as of March 2015) is "near 8,000".
The ACO was formed on 1 January 2008 as a result of members of the Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers (ACU&S) having voted in favour of their organisation amalgamating with the ECB Officials Association (ECB OA).
When the Association was formed, an Interim Board was set up to get the new organisation rolling. Roger Knight was appointed as Chairman of the Interim Board, and has remained the ACO chairman since.
The Association has the following membership categories, with respective subscription rates, as of March 2015:
Full, associate and junior memberships are for persons resident in England and Wales; EC membership is for those otherwise living in the European Union (and the Crown dependencies), and overseas membership is for remaining places in the world.
Full, junior and EC members are those who are "active" in officiating in cricket – the Association provides appropriate insurance cover as standard to these members (hence the higher subscription fees). Members officiate across the cricket spectrum from village cricket to Test cricket, including women's cricket.
Full and junior members (aged 16 and over) must be certified by the Disclosure and Barring Service if active in England and Wales.
For each ECB County Board there is an attached county ACO association. Members of the ACO residing in England and Wales are also a member of one of these county associations, typically the one where they live or are active in.