ICC achieves milestone of equal prize money for men’s and women’s cricket world cups

Cricket is the first major team sport to achieve gender prize equity, despite gap in revenue and viewership.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has made a landmark decision to offer equal prize money for men’s and women’s World Cup events, starting with the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.

The decision, announced during the ICC Annual Conference in July 2023, accelerates the council’s goal of achieving prize money parity by seven years.

The winners of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, set to take place in the UAE, will receive $2.34 million, a significant increase from the $1 million awarded to Australia in 2023.

Runners-up will take home $1.17 million, a 134% boost from the $500,000 South Africa earned in 2023.

The prize pool for the entire tournament has soared to $7.95 million, reflecting a 225% increase from the $2.45 million total in 2023.

Each match victory in the group stages will reward teams with $31,154, while all ten participating teams are guaranteed at least $112,500.

Teams that do not reach the semi-finals will share a pool of $1.35 million based on their finishing positions.

“This is a significant milestone for cricket, and it demonstrates our commitment to prioritising and accelerating the growth of the women’s game,” the ICC said in a statement.

“By offering equal prize money, we aim to empower female athletes and inspire the next generation of cricketers.”

The decision comes as part of a broader strategy by the ICC to promote the women’s game, aligning with the increased prize fund for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022, which reached $3.5 million.

The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 will kick off on October 3 in Sharjah, with Bangladesh facing Scotland in the opening match.

A minor change has been made to the match order for the October 5 double-header, where Australia will now face Sri Lanka in the afternoon, followed by Bangladesh taking on England in the evening.

With 23 matches across Dubai and Sharjah, the tournament is expected to set a new benchmark for women’s cricket as the sport continues to grow on the global stage.

This move marks a historic moment in sports, making cricket the first major team sport to achieve gender prize equity at World Cup tournaments, despite differences in viewership and revenue generation between the women and men's edition of the international tournament.

The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 was the most-watched ICC women’s event ever, with global viewing minutes reaching 11.52 billion— a 44% increase from the 2020 World Cup in Australia.

In contrast, the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, hosted in India, which saw Australia win the championship for the sixth time, recorded a staggering 1 trillion global live viewing minutes. Innovations such as the vertical video feed enhanced the viewing experience on mobile devices.