ICC moves Women’s T20 World Cup from Bangladesh to UAE

The ICC has confirmed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the new venue for the 2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, originally scheduled to be held in Bangladesh.

It is believed that the governments of several participating countries voiced concerns about the security situation in Bangladesh, a nation of 170 million people, where the government of the longest-serving prime minister was recently overthrown by a popular uprising, and an interim administration is currently in power.

The ninth edition of the tournament will now take place from October 3 to 20 across two venues in Dubai and Sharjah. Despite the venue change, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will retain its hosting rights.

The decision to move the tournament was driven by travel advisories issued by several participating teams' governments, making it unfeasible to hold the event in Bangladesh.

ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice expressed gratitude to the BCB for their efforts and thanked the Emirates Cricket Board for stepping in to host the event.

“It is a shame not to be hosting the Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh as we know the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) would have staged a memorable event,” ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said in a statement.

The UAE, which has emerged as a major cricket hub, is well-prepared to host the event, having previously staged the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2021. The country’s growing stature in international cricket is evident from the rising profiles of both its men’s and women’s teams.

The ICC also acknowledged the support from Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, with plans to bring future global events to these countries in 2026.

“I would like to thank the team at the BCB for exploring all avenues to try and enable the event to be hosted in Bangladesh, but travel advisories from the governments of a number of the participating teams meant that wasn’t feasible. However, they will retain hosting rights,” Geoff Allardice further said.