ICC Women’s World Cup Format: Explained

The 13^th edition of the ICC Women’s World Cup (limited overs format) began on the 30th of September. The tournament is witnessing eight teams that will compete for the most treasured possession. The Indian Sub-Continent is playing the host after almost a decade. India and Sri Lanka are the hosts, as five venues across both countries will host some of the most intriguing games. Some of the finest cricketers in women’s cricket will be seen in action. Australia is the defending champion after winning the trophy in 2022. England, South Africa, and New Zealand are the other teams to watch out for. On the other hand, India are firm favourites as they will play in home conditions. The final will be played on the 2^nd of November.

2025 ICC Women’s World Cup: Format Explained

Team India qualified automatically as they are the hosts. The other five teams that qualified through women’s championships rankings are: Australia, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and South Africa. The other two qualifying teams were Pakistan and Bangladesh, who made it to the eight-team tournament through qualifying matches that were held in Lahore, Pakistan. 

The tournament will witness 31 games altogether in the entire tournament, with the top four teams with maximum points fighting it out in the semi-finals. The previous editions also witnessed the same format, where every team plays its opponent once in league games. Australia has won the tournament 7 times. 

The semi-finals will be played after 28 league matches are completed. The team that is placed first will play the fourth-ranked team in the first semi-final, while the team that is ranked second will play the third-placed team. The winning team will be awarded two points for a win, while if a game ends in a no result or a tie, then both teams will be awarded one point each. If two teams have the same points, then the team with the highest net run rate will be placed above the other team. The same concept was followed in previous editions. During the 2009 edition that was played in Australia, there were 25 teams that played in that tournament. If a match ends in a tie, then the outcome of that match will be decided through the super over.

Platforms where matches can be streamed live 

ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 matches will be streamed live on the JioHotstar app and JioStar in India. Viewers in the UK and Ireland can catch live action on Sky Sports, while viewers in Australia can watch live matches on Amazon Prime Video. In New Zealand, viewers can enjoy uninterrupted live action on Sky TV. For viewers in Sri Lanka, Maharaja TV will broadcast matches, while in North America, Willow TV will broadcast matches. PTV and Ten Sports will broadcast live coverage in Pakistan. The tournament has changed a lot as far as its live coverage is concerned. Earlier, only Cable TV channels and Dish TV channels would broadcast live coverage, but after the advent and expansion of Social media and OTT platforms, viewers have got their choices as per their preferences to decide how to catch all the live action of their favourite players.

Stadiums where the games will be played 

Sports events have reached to every nook and corner of the world, and cricket is no different. Cricket and its infrastructure have made in roads to small centers and rural areas of India. The 2025 edition witnesses 5 venues co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. 

In India, 4 cities are the hosts- Dr DY Patil Sports Academy-Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra), Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Baraspara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati (Assam), Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Vishakhapatnam. In Sri Lanka, R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo will be hosting the games.

Cash Prize and Rewards for the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup

The prize money for the winning team of the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup is $4.48 million (almost INR 40 crore). During the 2022 edition, when Australia won the trophy, the prize money was INR 12 crore. Runners-up will get 2.24 million (INR 20 crore). In 2022, England finished as runner-up and they were rewarded with INR 5.2 crore. Teams that lose semi-finals will be rewarded $1.12 million (INR 10 crore). In 202,2 the prize money for losing semi-finalists was $300000 (INR 2.6 crore).

Teams that lose in the group phase will be given $250000 (INR 2.2 crore). A win in each group phase match will increase the amount to $34,314 (INR 30 lakh). Teams who finish 5th and 6th will get $700000 (INR 6.2 crore) each, while teams finishing at 7th and 8th position will get $280000 (2.48 crore). The prize money has witnessed a rise of almost 297% as compared to that of the 2022 edition.

2025 ICC Women’s World Cup Schedule, Venue, and Match Timings