Eight-Team Women's Emerging Nations Trophy Launched By ICC

Bangkok : Following the resounding success of the Women's World Cup in India, the ICC on Saturday launched a new eight-team global tournament to "promote and expand women's cricket around the world".

The inaugural edition, to be held in Bangkok from November 20 till 30, will be called the ICC Women's Emerging Nations Trophy and will be part of a new three-tier development pathway designed to offer high-performance exposure to upcoming cricketing nations.

The eight competing teams are: Thailand, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, the United Arab Emirates, Scotland, Namibia, Tanzania, and Uganda.

The Women's ODI World Cup, which concluded recently with India lifting its maiden trophy by defeating South African in the final set a new benchmark in women's cricket with the tournament reaching more than 500 million viewers across the country and a significant growth in viewership across the globe.

"Nearly 300,000 fans attended matches across India and (co-host) Sri Lanka, and the event concluded with India becoming the first Asian team to lift the Women's Cricket World Cup, a watershed moment in the evolution of the sport and the socio-cultural context of gender roles," ICC said in a statement.

"Building on the extraordinary impetus provided by the marquee event, the ICC continues to invest in creating a sustainable future for women's cricket. The Women's Emerging Nations Trophy is part of a new three-tier development pathway designed to offer high-performance exposure to emerging nations," it added.

ICC Chief Executive, Sanjog Gupta said the new tournament will provide emerging nations more opportunities to play at the highest level.

"It is the ICC and the Chair's vision to sustainably expand cricket's footprint across the world and grow the women's game. Providing elite athletes from emerging nations more opportunities to play at the highest level is aimed at fast-tracking their development and improving the competitiveness of their teams.

"It also drives the visibility of the sport in participant nations, serving as a driver of girls' involvement in the sport and inspires women from other nations to stay committed to the development pathways," said Gupta.

The tournament will begin with hosts Thailand taking on the Netherlands and Papua New Guinea playing against UAE.

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