The ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 has officially become the biggest edition in the competition’s history, with 245,815 fans attending across 25 match days, breaking the previous tournament record by more than 100,000.
Alongside an average match day attendance of 9,833, it was the most watched Women’s T20 World Cup to date in the UK, with over 15 million viewer hours recorded across Sky channels.
The tournament also set a new benchmark for matchday revenue, producing the highest grossing women’s cricket match ever, with over £1million worth of tickets sold for the Final at Lord’s.
Attendance records tumbled throughout the tournament, with the highest-ever group-stage crowd surpassed three times. It was first set at Edgbaston when India faced Pakistan on 14 June (18,814), broken by England v New Zealand at The Oval on 27 June (21,018), and eclipsed again just a day later as 27,164 fans packed Lord’s for the South Africa v Bangladesh and India v Australia double-header on 28 June. The opening weekend was the biggest in the tournament’s history, drawing more than 45,000 fans and setting the tone for a landmark event.
The tournament has introduced tens of thousands of new fans to cricket, with a third of all buyers purchasing for the first time, highlighting the ability of women’s cricket to attract new audiences to the game. Female ticket buyers accounted for 34% of all purchasers, the highest across any cricket format, while junior tickets made up 19% of all sales.
Sky’s TV audience peaked at 678,000 during Sunday’s Final, with an average of 381,000 fans tuning in to England matches throughout the competition, while the BBC saw three-quarters of a million people listen to its audio commentary online across the tournament. With 15 million impressions and five million video views across BBC Sport’s social channels over the course of the World Cup and 2.1 million views of its ball-by-ball online coverage of the Final, the tournament proved it could cut through across platforms in a packed sporting calendar.
While records were shattered off the pitch, the action on it was equally historic. The tournament showcased the power, skill and professionalism that now define the women’s game, with more than 9,000 runs scored – an average of 9% more per match than the previous highest-scoring edition. Across the 33 matches, six of the ten highest ever team totals and seven of the ten highest ever successful run chases in ICC Women’s T20 World Cup history were also recorded.
The event’s impact extended well beyond stadiums, with more than 520,000 women and girls playing cricket this year through initiatives linked to the competition, and over 180 female leaders trained through dedicated programmes, helping to elevate and accelerate the grassroots growth of women’s cricket.
In addition, over 920,000 people across the country caught the spirit of the tournament through events in schools, cricket clubs and host cities, while a dedicated Women’s T20 World Cup Roblox game attracted more than 950,000 players, who spent over 95,000 hours in-game.
Tournament Director, Beth Barrett-Wild, said: "Our vision for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 was clear: to break women’s cricket into the mainstream. We wanted to deliver an unmissable event that would forever capture the hearts and minds of fans, while redefining what's normal for the women's game. Together with the players, host venues and cities, volunteers, partners and broadcasters, we've done exactly that, laying the foundations for a new era of women’s cricket.
"The reach, engagement and records broken reflect how the tournament cut through in the moment. While the half a million women and girls who’ve already picked up a bat and ball this year underlines how the impact of this World Cup will be felt long after the final ball was bowled.
"This World Cup has undoubtedly shifted perceptions about women’s cricket. The world class action on the field and the scale and status surrounding the tournament will permanently change how people think about, feel and value the women’s game.”
ICC CEO, Sanjog Gupta, said: "Our ambition for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 was to deliver a landmark global moment for women’s sport. Over the past few weeks we’ve seen the event break multiple records across in-stadia attendance, viewership and digital engagement.
"Across venues and games, the incredible players and their coaching staff have delivered the highest competitive standards and set new benchmarks for athletic excellence. This, combined with our continued investment in promotion of the women's game and commitment to elevation of the stature for ICC events, has delivered a seminal moment in global sport.
“The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup this year firmly established itself as a massive platform serving moments, memories, magic and meaning. And its legacy will be felt in the years to come through the broader socio-cultural impact it has had, particularly the future opportunities it would have unlocked for women and girls aspiring to play at all levels."
ECB Chair, Richard Thompson, said: “This tournament has set new standards for women’s cricket. It has delivered world-class cricket, smashed attendance and broadcast records, and enabled tens of thousands of new fans to discover a love for the game.
“We wanted this World Cup to take women’s cricket mainstream, and that’s exactly what it has done, creating new heroes and role models who will continue to inspire a new generation and fuel the continued growth of the women’s and girls’ game at all levels.
“With the first ever women’s Test at Lord’s just days away, and a packed summer of domestic and grassroots cricket still to play, I have no doubt that 2026 will be the biggest year for women’s cricket our game has ever seen.”
The ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 has been the culmination of years of investment in women's cricket, bringing together the world's best players in front of record crowds, creating unforgettable moments for fans across England and Wales, and cementing the sport's place within the cultural mainstream.