The International Cricket Council on Monday announced the expansion of women cricket post the 2023 cycle. As per media reports, ICC added that more teams will be taking part in both 50-over and T20 World Cups from 2026 onwards. The announcement came on International Women’s Day and the decision was taken as a part of long-term commitment to growing the sport across the world.

The revised structure for global events involving women were put up, which included two 50-over World Cups and three 20-over World Cups from 2025-31. The cricket governing body has also introduced a T20 Champions Cup that will be held twice in this cycle.

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ICC, in a statement, said “The revised formats will give more teams the chance to compete on the global stage and importantly provides Members with a window to grow the game domestically and to challenge internationally as the changes take place.” 

The 50-over World Cup in 2025 will involve eight teams in 31 matches while there will be 10 teams and 48 matches in 2029. The T20 World Cups in 2026, 2028 and 2030 will have 12 teams participating in the contest with all tournaments having 33 matches. The Champions Cup will involve six teams with a total of 15 matches in each edition.

Manu Sawhney, ICC CEO, said, “We have a clear focus and commitment to an ambitious long-term growth plan for the women’s game. We have been building momentum around the women’s game for the last four years investing in global broadcast coverage and marketing to drive fan engagement,” according to reports by Cricbuzz. 

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ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 attracted record numbers and the results speak for themselves. 1.1 billion video views were recorded making it the most-watched women’s cricket event of all time. The MCG stadium also saw an attendance of 86,174 fans attending the final, which was also the highest recorded attendance for a women’s cricket event.

Sawhney added, “This decision to expand our women’s events build on these foundations and allow us to give more member countries greater opportunities to compete on a global stage. This means that more teams will also get the opportunity to compete in the qualification pathways for the respective ICC events over the coming years. I am sure these initiatives will go a long way in helping us achieve our strategic goal of continuing to build strength and depth in the women’s game.”