ICC Women’s T20 World Cup: The International Cricket Council has made an exciting decision to expand the number of teams participating in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2030! This bold move highlights the ICC’s dedication to empowering and growing women’s cricket on the global stage.
Since 2009, the ICC has been working tirelessly to elevate women’s cricket, which is evident from the introduction of the Women’s T20 World Cup just two years after the men’s inaugural tournament. This latest development is a thrilling step forward in continuing that legacy!
The passion and participation of women in cricket have skyrocketed since then! The first edition featured 8 teams, as cricket wasn’t widely popular among women in many countries. In 2014, the ICC expanded the tournament by adding two more teams for the fourth edition.
For the last five editions, the Women’s World Cup in the shortest format has included 10 teams. While the ICC had already committed to increasing this number to 12 in the 2026 tournament, they have now made an even bolder commitment this time around!
ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Expansion
“The ICC Board has approved an expansion of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup to 16 teams in 2030, aligning with its ongoing commitment to equity between the men’s and women’s games,” ICC wrote.
Additionally, the Board has announced that the qualification cut-off date for the 2026 edition will be October 31, 2024!
The Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) has also confirmed an exciting new allocation of eight regional qualifying spots for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. Under this innovative structure, two teams each will qualify from Africa and Europe, one from the Americas, and three from a combined Asia and EAP regional final.
This is a significant change from the previous structure, where Asia had two spots and EAP had one. What an exhilarating step forward for the tournament!
Overall, it is very exciting and commendable step from ICC to expand the number of teams participating in the women’s sport.
SOURCE: ICC OFFICIAL
