In a landmark decision, the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday announced equal prize money for men’s and women’s teams for all of its global tournaments.

Teams will now receive equal prize money for the equivalent finishing position at comparable events as well as the same amount for winning a match in those tournaments.

The decision, which is a major step towards gender parity in cricket, was taken at the ongoing ICC Annual Conference in Durban, South Africa. ICC said that its Board has fulfilled its commitment to reaching prize money equity by 2030 well ahead of schedule now.

“Since 2017 we have increased prize money at women’s events every year with a clear focus on reaching equal prize money and from here on in, winning the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup will carry the same prize money as winning the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and the same for T20 World Cups and U19s too.

This is a significant moment in the history of our sport and I am delighted that men’s and women’s cricketers competing at ICC global events will now be rewarded equally. Cricket is genuinely a sport for all and this decision from the ICC Board reinforces that and enables us to celebrate and value every single player’s contribution to the game equally,” said ICC Chairman Greg Barclay, in a statement.

The winners and runners-up at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 and 2023 received 1 million dollar and 500,000 dollar respectively, which was five times the amount offered in 2018. On the other hand, the prize money for the winner of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 received a prize money of 1.6 million dollars, with the runners-up getting half the amount.

The prize money for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022, too, rose to 3.5m dollars from the 2m dollars that was awarded for winning the 2017 edition in England.

BCCI Secretary Jay Shah called the prize money parity in ICC events as the start of a new dawn and an era of equality & empowerment.

“I am thrilled to announce that a major step towards gender parity & inclusivity has been undertaken. The prize money at all @ICC events will be same for men & women. Together we grow. I thank the fellow Board members for their support in helping achieve this important endeavour. Let’s work towards a future where cricket continues to thrive across the globe,” Shah tweeted.

The ICC Board also confirmed the largest ever investment into the sport after the distribution model for the next four years was agreed. Every ICC Member will receive significantly enhanced funding with a strategic investment fund ring-fenced to drive global growth initiatives in line with the ICC Global Growth Strategy.

“The success of our media rights and commercial programme for our next four-year cycle means we are able to invest more money than ever before into our sport. All Members will receive a base distribution and then additional revenue will be in relation to contribution to the global game both on and off the field.

This is by far the largest level of investment ever to go into cricket and it’s a once in a generation opportunity for our Members to accelerate growth and engage more players and fans and drive competitiveness. I’m delighted that the board has also committed to a strategic investment fund which will help to accelerate the delivery of our Global Growth Strategy,” added Barclay.

The ICC Board also approved changes to ICC Sanctioning Regulations designed to support all Members to create sustainable revenue streams and develop the game whilst preserving and protecting the integrity of the sport and the welfare of those participating.

Moving forwards, new events requiring a sanction will need to ensure the playing XI of each team will include a minimum of seven local or Associate Member players to support the development of the game.

Additionally, a solidarity fee will be payable from the organising Member to the Home Board of a player to reflect the role the Member played in developing and promoting the sport globally.

Press Release, Source: IANS