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Following the success of the 2025 Women’s World Cup, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided to expand the number of teams in the next edition of the tournament, scheduled for 2029. The ICC Board ratified the decision on Friday, reaffirming its commitment to the global growth of women’s cricket. The apex body also confirmed that nearly 300,000 fans attended the event in stadiums, thereby breaking the record for the highest attendance at any women’s cricket tournament.
The Women’s World Cup 2025 final saw India beating South Africa by 52 runs in the summit clash at the Dr DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. This resulted in India winning the tournament for the first time in their history. The 2025 World Cup saw India, South Africa, Australia, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan competing across matches in India and Sri Lanka. India, South Africa, Australia and England were the four semi-finalists.
“The ICC board, keen to build on the success of the event, agreed to expand the next edition of the tournament to 10 teams (from 8 teams in 2025),” the ICC said in an official release.
The apex body also confirmed that at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, both the men’s and women’s T20 events will feature six teams each, comprising a total of 28 matches.
Another key decision made during the ICC meeting was the nearly 10 per cent increase in the distribution of funds to its associate members for the year 2026.
“The uplift in funding will enable these countries to invest further in domestic programmes, high-performance structures, and cricket development across emerging regions,” the ICC said.
Mithali Raj and Amol Muzumdar appointed to Women’s Cricket Committee
Former India captain Mithali Raj and the current women’s coach Amul Muzumdar were among the new additions to the ICC Women’s Cricket Committee.
“The ICC Board ratified the appointment of a number of members of the ICC Women’s Cricket Committee, namely Ashley De Silva, Mithali Raj, Amol Muzumdar, Ben Sawyer, Charlotte Edwards, and Sala Stella Siale-Vaea,” the official statement read.
Lastly, the ICC also confirmed receiving a first update on ‘Project USA’, which was launched following the suspension of USA Cricket and in line with the ICC’s directive that the “commercial and development interests of players in the US national teams should not be negatively impacted by the suspension of the board due to non-compliance.”
It is worth mentioning that the project is focused on building an optimised runway for Cricket’s inclusion in the LA 2028 Olympic Games.
