The ICC, “keen to build on the success” of this year’s Women’s World Cup, has signed off on a larger 2029 tournament that will welcome ten teams instead of the customary eight. In practical terms that means 48 fixtures, a sizeable jump from the 31 played in 2025, and a format that should hand emerging nations more time in the middle.
Since 2000 the Women’s ODI World Cup has been an eight-team affair. Even so, administrators first mooted expansion back on International Women’s Day 2021, promising a “commitment to the growth of women’s cricket”. That pledge has now moved from press release to policy.
Numbers rather than rhetoric helped seal the deal. According to the ICC, “Nearly 300,000 fans watched the event in stadia breaking the record for tournament attendance for any women’s Cricket event.” Television interest was stronger still. The same note claimed “new records being set for on-screen audiences across the world with nearly 500 million viewers in India.” In other words, the commercial case was as persuasive as the sporting one.
The ripple effect stretches beyond 50-over cricket. Next year’s Women’s T20 World Cup will swell to 12 teams, up from the ten that travelled to the UAE last time out. For context, the men’s T20 event already runs with 20 sides, so the women’s game still has room to breathe.
Former India captain Mithali Raj, newly added to the ICC Women’s Cricket Committee, believes the governing body is striking the right balance. “It’s important that opportunities grow in step with standards,” she said last month. Fellow committee members Ashley De Silva, Amol Muzumdar, Ben Sawyer, Charlotte Edwards and Sala Stella Siale-Vaea were also ratified at the most recent board meeting.
For the players, an expanded field offers obvious upside: more international caps, varied opposition and—crucially—greater visibility. Yet coaches warn the step up can be unforgiving. Associate sides may face heavy defeats at first; support systems will need to broaden alongside the fixture list.
Still, momentum feels real. The 2025 World Cup ended with India lifting the trophy for the first time, a milestone that has energised a vast domestic fan base. If that excitement transfers to 2029, the tournament could provide another jolt of progress—this time shared more widely across the cricketing map.
The ICC will publish a detailed qualification pathway early next year. Until then, national boards know the brief: strengthen women’s programmes, because ten places are available but far more countries than that now fancy a seat at the table.
