Major format change! Next women’s World Cup to feature only 10 teams

The 2029 edition will follow record attendance and viewership figures during the recent World Cup, which drew nearly 300,000 spectators in stadiums and attracted around 500 million television and digital viewers in India alone.

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“The ICC Board, keen to build on the success of the event, agreed to expand the next edition of the tournament to 10 teams,” the governing body said in a statement.

The Board also reviewed the ICC’s ongoing engagement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ahead of cricket’s inclusion in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. At LA28, both men’s and women’s T20 tournaments will feature six teams each, comprising 28 matches in total.

Cricket is also set to be part of multiple multisport events through to 2028, including the 2026 Asian Games (Aichi-Nagoya, Japan), 2027 African Games (Cairo, Egypt), and the 2027 Pan American Games (Lima, Peru), where cricket will make its debut.

The ICC Board additionally ratified appointments to the ICC Women’s Cricket Committee, including Ashley De Silva, Mithali Raj, Amol Muzumdar, Ben Sawyer, Charlotte Edwards and Sala Stella Siale-Vaea.