ICC announces record prize money for Women's T20 World Cup 2026

The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced a record prize money pool for the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 on Monday, April 13. The tournament is all set to be played from June 12 to July 5 in England.

For the upcoming edition of the tournament, the ICC has increased the prize money by 10% from the previous edition played in 2024, where US$7,958,077 was shared among the ten participating countries.

The prize money has been increased to US$8,764,615 for the upcoming edition as the tournament expands to 12 teams for the first time in its history. The winners will be awarded US$2,340,000, while the runners-up will receive US$1,170,000.

Teams getting knocked out in the semi-final will earn US$675,000 each, and each participating nation will get US$31,154 for every victory in the group stage. The minimum guaranteed prize money for all 12 participating teams is US$247,500.

ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta expressed his excitement for the upcoming edition of the T20 World Cup 2026, also mentioning the steep rise of the women’s game over the past few years.

“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 continued rise of women’s cricket through increased investment and opportunity reflects the growing influence and impact of female athletes on the global stage,” said Sanjog Gupta in a media release.

New Zealand enter tournament as defending champions

Meanwhile, the 12 participating teams of the Women’s T20 World Cup have been divided into two groups of six each. Group A contains - Bangladesh, South Africa, Pakistan, the Netherlands, Australia and India. On the other hand, Group B has Scotland, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Ireland, England and New Zealand.

England and Sri Lanka will lock horns in the opening game on June 12 at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-final, scheduled to be played on June 30 and July 2, respectively. On the other hand, the final will be played on July 5 at Lord’s, London.

New Zealand are the defending champions of the tournament, having won the previous edition after beating South Africa in the final.