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With just 60 days to go until the start of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced a record prize money pool for the tournament set to be staged in England and Wales.
The overall prize pool for the Women's T20 World Cup 2026 has been increased to 8,764,615 USD, marking a 10 per cent rise from the 2024 edition. The figure surpasses the 7,958,077 USD pot shared among the 10 competing nations in 2024, as the tournament prepares to expand to 12 teams for the first time in its history, as per ICC. The winners are set to take home 2,340,000 USD, while the runners-up will receive 1,170,000 USD. Both losing semi-finalists will earn 675,000 USD each, and every group-stage win will fetch teams 31,154 USD. All 12 participating teams are guaranteed a minimum prize pot of 247,500 USD. ICC CEO, Sanjog Gupta, expressed his delight at the continued rise of women's cricket and underlined the world cricket governing body's commitment towards making the sport more global. "The growth of women's cricket continues to accelerate, and the expansion of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup to 12 teams, combined with a record prize pool, underlines our commitment to building a stronger, more competitive global game," the CEO said. "The continued rise of women's cricket through increased investment and opportunity reflects the growing influence and impact of female athletes on the global stage." "With that same momentum building across every aspect of women's cricket, this event is shaping up to not only set a host of new attendance and viewing records in the sports and media ecosystems but also leave a lasting impact on the wider socio-cultural landscape across the world," he concluded. Alongside this, the ICC Trophy Tour with DP World also begins on Monday and will run across Europe in the lead-up to the competition. The Trophy Tour begins in London, where it will be displayed at the centre of the square of the venue of the tournament's final, the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground. This will be accompanied by a dazzling projection of the trophy's iconic silhouette onto the ground's famous pavilion. From there, the trophy will travel across qualified European member nations: the Netherlands, Ireland, and Scotland, before embarking on an extensive tour of the tournament's host cities in England through May, building up excitement ahead of the opening day on June 12. It will include visits to key locations with several opportunities for fan engagement, particularly across the host cities, including Millennium Square (Leeds), St Peter's Square (Manchester), Bullring (Birmingham), Cabot Circus (Bristol), Guildhall Square (Southampton) and Trafalgar Square (London). The tournament will kick off on 12 June, with hosts England taking on Sri Lanka at Edgbaston in Birmingham in the opening fixture. The Group A features India, the 50-over champions, with Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, Netherlands and Bangladesh. The Group B features defending champions New Zealand alongside England, Ireland, Scotland along with Sri Lanka and the West Indies. (ANI)
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