ICC introduces equal prize money for all World Cup events

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is set to introduce equal prize money for its men’s and women’s World Cups. The decision was already taken during the July 2023 ICC Annual Conference, making cricket the only major team sport in the world with equal prize money for both categories. 

In the 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa, the champion Australian team were awarded USD 1 million. However, the winner of the 2024 edition will receive a prize money of USD 2.34 million, which is a massive 134% more than the 2023 edition. 

As a result, the prize money of the runners-up and other participating nations has seen a significant jump since the previous editions, bringing parity between men's and women’s prize money at all levels. This has also ensured that the ICC board achieved its target of prize money equity almost seven years ahead of the 2030 schedule. 

Hence, the runners-up will now receive USD 1.17 million, compared to the USD 500,000 South Africa received in 2023. The two other semi-finalists will earn USD 675,000 each, which would be USD 465,000 more than in 2023. The total prize pot totals USD 7,958,080, which has also seen a massive 225% increase from the last edition’s total pot of $2.45 million. 

As a result, all the 10 participating teams are assured of USD 112,500 each. 

This step by the ICC can be seen as the execution of their commitment to prioritise the women’s game and focus on its accelerated growth until 2032. It can also be seen as the continuation of teams like Indian, England, New Zealand and South Africa who pay equal match fees to their men and women cricketers. Meanwhile, Australian women cricketers also benefitted from a hefty pay rise in 2023. 

The upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup begins October 3, with Bangladesh taking on Scotland at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the first match. The ICC also informed in its press release that the schedule for October 5 has changed, with Australia now facing Sri Lanka in the 2 PM game in Sharjah instead of the 6 PM game. The England vs Bangladesh game will be held at 6 PM. 

The tournament was shifted to UAE after political violence destabilised the security situation in Bangladesh, and the ICC had to intervene to shift the venue. 

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