ICC announces record prize money for Women's T20 World Cup 2026 as tournament expands to 12 teams

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced a record prize money for the Women's T20 World Cup 2026 as the tournament will be expanded to 12 teams for the first time in history. The announcement came as the Trophy Tour began, with 60 days left for the tournament that will begin on June 12 and will be played in England and Wales. 

The previous prize money pot for the 2024 tournament for the teams was US$7,958,077. There is a 10% hike for the 2026 edition of the tournament as the teams will now get US$8,764,615 (INR 81 crore 83 lakh approx.). 

The winners will bag a handsome amount of US$2,340,000 (INR 21 crore 84 lakh approx). The runners-up will take home US$1,170,000 (INR 10 crore 92 lakh approx). The losing semifinalists will bag US$675,000 each (INR 6 crore 30 lakh approx). Every win in a group stage will give the teams US$31,154 (INR 29 lakh approx). Meanwhile, the participating teams



will get US$247,500 (2 crore 31 lakh approx).

ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta expressed his emotions on the rise in the prize money, stating that this underlines ICC's commitment to the global game. "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 said.