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An extra USD 2.6 million will be up for grabs at women's tournaments after the ICC announced a major boost in the prize money pool. Winners of the Women's T20 World Cup in Australia next year will receive USD 1 million and the runners-up USD 500,000, five times the amounts on offer at the 2018 edition. The overall prize money will increase by 320% for 2020, compared to 2018, meaning a windfall for each of the 10 teams competing. The prize pot for the Women's World Cup in 2021 will rise to USD 3.5 million from $2 million in 2017 under changes announced by the ICC on Monday in the wake of increased revenue. The ICC Board also confirmed the introduction of an Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup, to be played in Bangladesh in 2021 and staged every two years after that. ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney said the moves were part of a "commitment to reach parity across men's and women's cricket as part of a broader plan to grow and develop the women's game". "We want to build a long-term sustainable foundation for women's cricket and that is about more than just prize money," he said in an ICC release. "It is about building a product that fans want to watch, that kids want to take up, that sponsors and broadcasters want to be part of. "Creating a Women's U-19 event also improves the pathway available to young cricketers and ensures they have the same opportunities as their male counterparts. "Next year it's our ambition to fill the MCG on International Women's Day for the final of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020, which would be a world record for a women's sporting event. This significant increase in prize money and the introduction of a Women's U-19 event is part of a much larger effort to grow the women's game around the world." The Board decided that the eight-year cycle starting in 2023 will comprise eight men's events, eight women's events, four men's Under-19 events and four women's Under-19 events. The ICC will call for expressions of interest from all member nations wanting to host events, with the bidding process to start early next year for women's and Under-19 events. Meanwhile, Indra Nooyi was unanimously reappointed as the ICC's independent director for a second two-year term from 2020-22. Former PepsiCo chairperson and CEO Nooyi became the ICC Board's first independent female director in 2018. She sits on the board of directors at Amazon and Schlumberger.
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