ICC Launches Women’s Cricket Campaign to Advance the Game

March 11, 2022 

As part of this past Tuesday's International Women’s Day celebrations, the International Cricket Council (ICC) and UNICEF announced the ‘100% Cricket Year of Women’s Cricket’ campaign to help drive transformative change for women and girls and accelerate the growth of the sport.  

Centered around an #IDeclare to 'Be the change in your community" message and specifically targeting South Asia, the governing body is asking cricket fans, players, commentators and commercial partners worldwide to show what they can do to promote gender equality through the sport.  

"We are committed to gender equality and using the platform of our sport to promote equal opportunities for girls and boys is a great way of doing this. We will also focus all of our Cricket 4 Good efforts on this too, ensuring we’re giving as many women and girls the chance to grow through our game," said ICC CEO, Geoff Allardice. 

Women’s cricket is one of the ICC’s six strategic priorities as the sport looks to grow female participation at every level. Though it has seen growth in recent years, there is still plenty to be achieved in terms of attention for the women’s game as commercials and branding surrounding it are nowhere close to men’s cricket.

According to a FICA (Federation of International Cricketers' Associations) 2020 report, there remains a striking lack of female representation on decision-making boards around the globe and many players still do not have access to the benefits of a formal players’ association. In addition, the women’s game at the elite level is still an extremely small sport with a very small pool of players worldwide. FICA puts the number of full-time professionals worldwide at just 119 (compared to over 400 professional male cricketers in England and Wales alone).

Cricket stars currently competing at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand were the first to rally behind the new campaign, stating:

 “I declare that I will scout and train as many young girls as possible to take up this wonderful sport.” - India captain Mithali Raj 

 “I declare I will encourage my daughter to play cricket.” - Pakistan Captain Bismah Maroof, one of eight mothers competing at the World Cup

“I declare I will work hard and play good cricket to set an example not only for Bangladeshi girls, but also all over the world.” - Bangladeshi bowler Jahanara Alam

Meanwhile, ICC partner FTX has partnered with Women in Sport Aotearoa (WISPA), the official charity partner of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022, to deliver a leadership programme for 16–19-year-olds. The programme is designed to identify young women who are demonstrating leadership potential in sport and active recreation. 

"We must bear in mind that when girls do better, societies do better. Each one of us must continue to speak up for equal opportunities for girls and women in all fields. By championing girls in sports, the ICC and UNICEF partnership will reach millions with powerful messages across the tournaments,” stated UNICEF’s South Asia Regional Director, George Laryea-Adjei.