ICC expands women's ODI World Cup to 10 teams from 2029 edition
The International Cricket Council (ICC) Board has approved a wide-ranging set of measures aimed at accelerating cricket’s global development, strengthening women’s cricket, and expanding the sport’s digital and commercial footprint. The decisions were finalised following the ICC Board meeting held on November 7.
Among the key announcements, the ICC confirmed the expansion of the Women’s ODI World Cup from eight to ten teams starting from the 2029 edition. The move follows the resounding success of the 2025 Women’s World Cup in India, which set new records for attendance and viewership, reaffirming the ICC’s commitment to the women’s game.
“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)," an ICC press release stated.
"Nearly 300,000 fans watched the event in stadiaum, breaking the record for tournament attendance for any women's cricket event. The tournament also witnessed viewership growth and new records being set for on-screen audiences across the world, with nearly 500 million viewers in India,” it further stated.
The Board noted that the 2025 event attracted close to 500 million viewers in India alone, underlining the sport’s growing popularity. Building on this success, the ICC is determined to further elevate women’s cricket through expanded global participation and increased exposure.
ICC reviewed collaboration with IOC
In addition, the ICC reviewed its collaboration with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and organisers of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Cricket is set to feature in LA28 with both men’s and women’s T20 events, comprising six teams each and a total of 28 matches. The sport will also be part of the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, the 2027 African Games in Egypt, and will make its debut at the 2027 PanAm Games in Peru.
The ICC also approved an Invitation to Tender (ITT) for global Video Gaming Rights, opening opportunities for partnerships to deliver interactive digital experiences to fans. A data consolidation project will further explore AI-powered fan engagement and commercial analytics.
Demonstrating its commitment to equitable growth, the ICC increased funding to Associate Members by nearly 10% for 2026, supporting grassroots and high-performance programs.
Finally, the ICC received its first update on “Project USA,” aimed at maintaining cricket’s development in the United States ahead of the LA28 Olympics, and ratified new appointments to the ICC Women’s Cricket Committee, including Mithali Raj and Charlotte Edwards.
