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New event, more teams added to World Cup schedule

The ICC have confirmed a new-look schedule for major women's events, starting in 2024

The International Cricket Council has announced its women’s World Cups will expand significantly across the next decade, with more teams and more matches added.

More teams will compete in both the ODI World Cup and T20 World Cup from 2026 onwards, while a new event – the ICC Women’s T20 Champions Cup – will be introduced from 2027.

It means there will be a major ICC women’s tournament held every year from 2022-2031.

The revised structure begins in 2024 with a T20 World Cup. That event will continue to be held every two years, and from 2026 onwards, two additional teams will be added, meaning there will be 12 teams competing and 33 matches played.

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A T20 World Cup is already scheduled for South Africa in early 2023. That event had been pencilled in for 2022, but was delayed a year due to the pandemic, which forced the 2021 ODI World Cup to be pushed back to early 2022.

Following that 50-over event in New Zealand next March and April, the next ODI World Cup will be held in 2025 and will continue to include eight teams.

But from 2029 it will expand to feature 10 teams.

The T20 Champions Cup, to feature the top six teams, will be held in 2027 and 2031.

Women’s cricket will also make its debut at the Commonwealth Games next year in Birmingham.

The revised schedule ensures the No.1 ranked Australians, who have won six ODI World Cups and five T20I World Cups, will be busier than ever across the next decade.

"We have a clear focus and commitment to an ambitious long-term growth plan for the women’s game," ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney said.

"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.

"The results speak for themselves with the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 attracting record numbers … 86,174 fans attending the final at the MCG, a record attendance for a women’s cricket event.

"This decision to expand our women’s events builds on these foundations and allows 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."

The ICC had already committed to introducing a women’s Under-19 World Cup, currently scheduled to be played in December.

ICC women's tournaments 2024-2031

Year       Tournament                      Teams   Matches

2024       T20 World Cup                  10           23

2025       World Cup                          8 31

2026       T20 World Cup                  12           33

2027       Champions Cup                 6            16

2028       T20 World Cup                  12           33

2029       World Cup                         10          48

2030       T20 World Cup                  12           33

2031       Champions Cup                 6            16