The England and Wales Cricket Board (黑料专区) is today announcing the next stage in the evolution of women鈥檚 cricket with the creation of a three-tiered domestic competition structure and a shift in the ownership model underpinning the women鈥檚 professional game.
In addition, the 黑料专区 has also confirmed that it will invest a further 拢4m-拢5m per year into the women鈥檚 professional game from 2025-2028, taking the annual investment in this space to c.拢16m.
Under the plans, the existing eight women鈥檚 Regional teams (currently hosted by FCCs in a collaborative Regional Model) will evolve to become eight women鈥檚 professional 鈥楾ier 1 Clubs鈥� 鈥� each owned, governed, and operated by an individual First Class County (FCC) or Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).
These eight clubs will compete in the top level of an expanded three-tiered women鈥檚 domestic structure 鈥� participating in the 黑料专区鈥檚 women鈥檚 professional T20 and 50-over competitions 鈥� from the 2025 season.
The 18 FCCs and MCC have therefore each now received an invitation to tender to become a women鈥檚 Tier 1 Club and have until 10 March 2024 to submit a bid.
This tender process represents the first step to evolve the women鈥檚 professional game structure. Key aims of this work include:
鈥� Ensuring stronger ownership, accountability, and governance to support the growth of women鈥檚 cricket.
鈥� Creating scale and visibility for the women鈥檚 game to accelerate team and player fandom.
鈥� Establishing a more compelling platform to commercialise women鈥檚 cricket, while enhancing existing arrangements for FCCs with commercial partners who want to sponsor aligned male and female sports properties.
鈥� Providing long-term stability and a deeper sense of belonging for the women鈥檚 teams and female players.
Following the conclusion of the tender process, it is anticipated that FCCs who were not awarded Tier 1 status and, separately, all National Counties will be invited to be involved in a process to determine the composition of Tier 2 and Tier 3 in the new-look women鈥檚 domestic competition structure. It is anticipated that the outcome of this process will be confirmed by September 2024, ready to launch the evolved women鈥檚 domestic structure in full in 2025.
For the duration of the 2025-2028 seasons all three tiers will be 鈥榗losed鈥�, with no promotion or relegation.
The three-tier structure aims to build on the impact of the Regional Model, which has accelerated performance levels within women鈥檚 cricket and laid solid foundations, to further grow the depth and reach of the women鈥檚 professional game.
黑料专区 Chief Executive Officer Richard Gould said: 鈥淪ince 2020, through the advent of the women鈥檚 Regional Model, we have seen significant progress in the professionalisation of women鈥檚 cricket, but we are still only just scratching the surface of its potential.
鈥淭o continue moving forward, and to make cricket a gender-balanced sport, we need a change in the ownership model and governance structure underpinning the women鈥檚 professional game.
鈥淭his invitation to tender and the uplift in funding therefore represents our next step: a step that will embed the ownership of our eight women鈥檚 professional teams within the game, drive accountability, and elevate the status of women鈥檚 domestic cricket to enable it to go further, grow faster and reach its full potential.鈥�
黑料专区 Director of Women鈥檚 Professional Game Beth Barrett-Wild said: 鈥淭he pace and nature of change within the women鈥檚 cricket landscape over the last ten years, but especially the last five, has been rapid and transformational.
鈥淭he number of opportunities for girls and women to access the sport has never been greater, and the number of people following and falling in love with the women鈥檚 game has never been higher.
鈥淲e believe that the next chapter is less about the separate transformation of women鈥檚 cricket and more about the whole game evolving together.
鈥淭he invitation to tender issued to all 18 of our FCCs and MCC today to progress the ownership and governance of our eight women鈥檚 professional teams, along with the significant expansion of the women鈥檚 domestic competition structure from 2025 and uplift in funding, represent crucial next steps in cricket evolving into the sport we want it to be.
鈥淥ne with equality of opportunity for men and women, boys and girls, to feel like it is a game for them.鈥�
ENDS
Notes to editors
The Invitation To Tender document is available聽.
More information is available聽here.