Growing opportunities for women and girls has been a long-standing priority for the ECB. Over recent years, significant progress has been made across every level of cricket, from increasing participation in schools and communities, to strengthening talent pathways, expanding the professional game, and improving the visibility of women's cricket.
The ECB welcomes the Equal Sport Project's focus on practical action and collective responsibility. The campaign's priorities, including equal opportunities for girls, greater visibility and commercial growth for women's sport, a more representative workforce, and improved access to facilities, align closely with many of the areas where cricket has been working to drive progress.
Within our current Inspiring Generations strategy, which runs until 2028, the ECB is:
- driving growth in women’s and girls’ cricket, with girls’ teams up 76% since 2023 and 3,589 women’s and girls’ teams playing in 2026 – 25% more than in 2025 – while training hundreds of new female coaches to strengthen school-to-club pathways through initiatives such as the Metro Bank Girls in Cricket Fund;
- committed to achieving a minimum 40% female representation on boards across the professional and recreational game;
- establishing a Women’s Cricket Commercial Steering Group to continue developing the commercial growth of the women’s game;
- delivering a Female Players Coach Programme – a targeted programme for former players to ensure talent is retained within the game;
- investing £5m a year through the County Grants Fund to help ECB-affiliated clubs grow women’s and girls’ teams through welcoming environments and improved playing or changing facilities.
Through continued investment in women's and girls' cricket, support for coaches, volunteers and communities, and the development of a stronger professional game, the ECB remains committed to helping create an environment where women and girls can participate, perform and lead at every level of the sport.
As the sporting sector comes together behind the Equal Sport Project, the ECB looks forward to sharing learning, celebrating progress and contributing to the wider conversation about how sport can become more inclusive and equitable for future generations.