ICC announces expansion of Women’s T20 World Cup to 16 teams by 2030

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced a thorough review of the T20 World Cup 2024, appointing three board directors—Roger Twose, Lawson Naidoo, and Imran Khawaja—to lead the investigation. The findings from this review will be submitted later in the year, focusing on both the US and Caribbean legs of the tournament.

This decision was formalized during the ICC annual conference held in Colombo from June 19 to 22, attended by all 108 ICC members. The review will particularly scrutinize the expenditure during the US segment of the tournament and the overall organization of the Caribbean segment.

In addition to addressing the World Cup review, the ICC made significant decisions regarding the Women’s T20 World Cup. The council approved the expansion of the Women’s T20 World Cup to feature 16 teams by 2030. The inaugural Women’s T20 World Cup in 2009 featured eight teams, which increased to ten teams in 2016. The upcoming 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh will include ten teams, with the 2026 edition set to feature 12 teams. The qualification cut-off date for the 2026 edition is October 31, 2024.

The ICC also announced the regional qualifying spots for the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. The allocation includes two teams each from Africa and Europe, one from the Americas, and three from Asia and East Asia Pacific combined. Previously, Asia had two spots, and the East Asia Pacific had one.

Moreover, USA Cricket and Cricket Chile were put on notice by the ICC for not complying with membership criteria. Both organizations have 12 months to rectify the issues. The ICC Americas office will support Cricket Chile in achieving compliance, while a normalization committee will be established to oversee USA Cricket’s compliance roadmap. The ICC board reserves the right to suspend or expel members for continued non-compliance.