Dubai, Sep 17
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday announced that the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 will be the first ICC event where women will receive the same prize money as their male counterparts, marking a significant milestone in the sport’s history.
The winners of the tournament, which will now be staged in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will receive USD 2.34 million, a 134 per cent increase on the USD 1 million awarded to Australia when they clinched the title in South Africa in 2023.
The two losing semi-finalists will earn USD 6,75,000 (up from USD 2,10,000 in 2023), with the overall prize pot totalling USD 79,58,080, a massive increase of 225 per cent from last year’s total fund of USD 2.45 million.
"The decision was taken at the ICC Annual Conference in July 2023, when the ICC Board took the step of reaching its prize money equity target seven years ahead of its schedule of 2030, making cricket the only major team sport to have equal prize money for its men’s and women’s World Cup events," the ICC said in a statement.
This move is in line with the ICC’s strategy to prioritise the women’s game and accelerate its growth by 2032. Teams will now receive equal prize money for the equivalent finishing position at comparable events as well as the same amount for winning a match at those events.
The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 event prize money is only higher on account of 10 additional teams participating and 32 more matches played.