The ICC Women's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier, formerly the ICC Women's World Twenty20 Qualifier (2013–2018) and the ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier (2019–2022), is a biennial international cricket competition in Women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) format (formerly in a hybrid Women's Twenty20 format until 2015), organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was held in every odd year from 2013 to 2019 with the exception of 2017 which was held in 2018, and since 2022 it has been held in every even year. It serves as the final stage of the qualification process for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup, formerly the ICC Women's World Twenty20 (2009–2018).
As of 2026, seven editions have been played; a total of 18 teams have competed and four teams have won the tournament. Bangladesh (2018, 2019, 2022, 2026) are the most successful team with four titles. Sri Lanka (2013, 2024) have won it twice, while Pakistan (2013) and Ireland (2015) have one title each. A total of six countries have hosted the tournament. Bangladesh are the current champions, having won their fourth title in the 2026 edition. The next edition of the tournament will take place in 2028.
History
Background In 2003, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) introduced a 20-over per innings game to the county cricket. The first official Twenty20 matches were played on 13 June 2003 between the English counties in the T20 Blast's inaugural edition. The first official Women's Twenty20 matches were played on 29 May 2004 as part of the 2004 Super Fours. The first Twenty20 match held at Lord's, on 15 July 2004 between Middlesex and Surrey, attracted a crowd of 26,500, the largest attendance for any county cricket game at the ground since 1953. The first full international women's Twenty20 match was played on 5 August 2004 between England and New Zealand at County Cricket Ground in Hove. The first full international men's Twenty20 match was played on 17 February 2005 between Australia and New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland. The game was played in a light-hearted manner.
Soon after, the International Cricket Council (ICC) adapted the T20I format and introduced the ICC Men's T20 World Cup (then known as the ICC World Twenty20) in 2007, followed by the ICC Women's T20 World Cup (then known as the ICC Women's World Twenty20) in 2009. In December 2007, A separate qualifier event (later renamed as "Global Qualifier") for the men's tournament was announced and was introduced from the 2009 edition onwards. In 2012, an expanded qualification pathway including a series of regional qualifiers was introduced for the men's tournament. In 2013, both global and regional qualifiers were introduced as parts of the women's qualification pathway as well.
Initial years (2013–2018)
The inaugural qualifier was held in July 2013 in Ireland featuring 8 teams with the top 3 teams qualifying for the 2014 World Twenty20. However, the final match of the qualifier was abandoned due to rain and the title was shared between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The second tournament was held in November and December 2015 in Thailand featuring 8 teams with only the top 2 teams qualifying for the 2016 World Twenty20. The third tournament was held in July 2018 in the Netherlands featuring 8 teams with the top 2 qualifying for the 2018 World Twenty20.
Disruptions and rebranding (2019–2022)
In November 2018, as part of a goal to heighten the profile of the World Twenty20 tournaments, the ICC announced that they would be rebranded as the "T20 World Cup" beginning in 2020. The third qualifier tournament was held in August – September 2019 in Scotland featuring 8 teams with the top 2 qualifying for the 2020 T20 World Cup. The fifth qualifier tournament was held in September 2022 in the United Arab Emirates featuring 8 teams with the top 2 qualifying for the 2023 T20 World Cup.
Expansion to 10 teams (2024–present)
The sixth qualifier (now named the "Global Qualifier") was held in April – May 2024 in the United Arab Emirates, featuring 10 teams, with the top 2 teams qualifying for the 2024 T20 World Cup. The seventh Global Qualifier was held in January – February 2026 in Nepal, featuring 10 teams, with the top 4 teams qualifying for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Hosts + Summary of hosts by ICC region (2013–2026) Region Year Hosting body Host(s) Asia 2015 Cricket Association of Thailand Thailand 2022 Emirates Cricket Board United Arab Emirates 2024 Emirates Cricket Board United Arab Emirates 2026 Cricket Association of Nepal Nepal Europe 2013 Cricket Ireland Ireland 2018 Netherlands 2019 Cricket Scotland Scotland
Format Qualification Until 2019, one host team and the bottom two teams from the previous World Twenty20 qualified directly, while the remaining 5 spots were filled by teams that advanced from the regional qualifiers. In 2022, the bottom two teams from the previous T20 World Cup qualified directly, while the remaining 6 spots were filled by teams that advanced from the regional qualifiers. Since 2024, the bottom two teams from the previous T20 World Cup receive direct qualification, while the remaining 8 spots are filled by teams that advance from the regional qualifiers.
+ Summary of the qualification for Global Qualifier (2013–2026) # Year Teams Directly qualified Regional qualifiers Hosts Previoustournament Africa Americas Asia East Asia-Pacific Europe 1 2013 8 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 2015 8 1 2 1 rowspan="2" 1 1 2 3 2018 8 1 2 1 2 1 1 4 2019 8 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 5 2022 8 rowspan="3" 1 1 1 1 1 2 6 2024 10 2 2 1 2 1 2 7 2026 10 2 2 1 2 1 2
Tournament The tournament is primarily held in two stages. The preliminary stage, or group stage, features 2 groups of 4 (2013–2022) or 5 (since 2024) teams in a round-robin format. Until 2022, the second stage had two sub-stages: shield stage and final stage. The top 4 teams from the preliminary stage advanced to the final stage, a knockout stage, while the bottom 4 played the shield stage, a repechage stage with consolation playoffs. In 2024, the shield stage was discontinued. In 2026, the second stage was changed into the Super stage, a round-robin stage of 6 teams known as the Super 6 stage.
In case of a tie (that is, both teams scoring the same number of runs at the end of their respective innings), a Super Over is used to decide the winner since 2009. In the case of a tie occurring again in the Super Over, subsequent Super Overs would be played until there is a winner. Prior to 2019, the match would be won by the team that had scored the most boundaries in their innings. Until 2015, the tournament was played in a hybrid format: only the matches involving a full member country or an associate team with T20I status had international status and were considered as WT20I matches, while other matches were played as WT20 matches without international status. In April 2018, the ICC announced that all member teams would be awarded full WT20I status from July 2018 onwards and since then, the tournament is played with full WT20I status.
+ Summary of tournament formats (2013–2026) # Year Teams Matches Preliminary stage Super stage Shield stage Final stage 1 2013 8 20 2 groups of 4 teams:12 matches rowspan="6" Repechage of 4 teams:4 matches Knockout of 4 teams:4 matches 2 2015 3 2018 4 2019 5 2022 6 2024 10 23 2 groups of 5 teams:20 matches rowspan="2" Knockout of 4 teams:3 matches 7 2026 29 Super 6 stage6 teams with :9 matches
Summary + Details of Women's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier tournaments # Year Dates Host(s) Venues 1 2013 23 July – 1 August 2013 Cricket Ireland 4 in Ireland 2 2015 Cricket Association of Thailand 2 in Thailand 3 2018 7 – 14 July 2018 2 in the Netherlands 4 2019 31 August – 7 September 2019 Cricket Scotland 2 in Scotland 5 2022 18 – 25 September 2022 Emirates Cricket Board 6 2024 25 April – 7 May 2024 Emirates Cricket Board 2 in the United Arab Emirates 7 2026 18 January – 1 February 2026 Cricket Association of Nepal 2 in Nepal 8 2028
Final results + Details of Women's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier finals Year Final Date & venue Winner Victory margin Runner-up 2013 Claremont Road Cricket Ground, Dublin No result 2015 Terdthai Cricket Ground, Bangkok 106/8 (20 overs) 2 wickets 105/3 (20 overs) 2018 Kampong Cricket Club, Utrecht 122/9 (20 overs) 25 runs 95 (18.4 overs) 2019 Forthill, Dundee 130/5 (20 overs) 70 runs 60/7 (20 overs) 2022 Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi 120/8 (20 overs) 7 runs 113/9 (20 overs) 2024 Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi 169/5 (20 overs) 68 runs 101/7 (20 overs) 2026 No final 10 points (NRR: 1.886) based on points 6 points (NRR: 1.280)
Team performances As of the 2026 tournament, eighteen teams have played in the Global Qualifier, but only two teams (Ireland and Thailand) have competed in every tournament. Four teams have won the tournament; Bangladesh (2018, 2019, 2022, 2026) have won the tournament four times, Sri Lanka (2013, 2024) have won it twice, Pakistan (2013) and Ireland (2015) have won it once each. Bangladesh have made five final appearances, while Ireland have made seven semi-final appearances. The best performance by a host team is semi-finalists by Ireland in 2013 and the United Arab Emirates in 2024. Sri Lanka and Pakistan have the highest victory percentage in Global Qualifier matches (100%).
By tournament An overview of the teams' performances in every Global Qualifier is given below. Legend
† denotes current Test playing nations / ICC full members. + Team performances in each Women's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier tournament 2013 2015 2018 2019 2022 2024 2026 † § RU↑ W↑ W↑ W↑ § W↑ 5 R1 1 R1 1 † 3rd*↑ W↑ RU↑ 3rd RU↑ SF RU↑ 7 R1 1 R1 R1 2 R1* 1 4th R1 R1* R1 R1 4th↑ 6 † W↑ § § § § § § 1 R1 4th 4th R1 R1 5 4th 3rd R1* R1 RU↑ 3rd↑ 6 † W↑ § § § § W↑ § 2 R1 R1* R1 RU↑ R1 R1 R2 7 R1 R1 2 R1 R1* SF* 3 R1 R1 R1 R2 4 R1 1 † R1 3rd ×× 3rd R1 R1 5
Overall The table below provides a summary of the performances of teams over past Global Qualifiers. † denotes current Test playing nations / ICC full members. + Overall team performances in Women's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier tournaments Team Won Lost Win % Best performance † 5 27 26 1 0 (0/0) 0 96.29 Winners (2018, 2019, 2022, 2026) † 2 11 10 0 0 (0/0) 1 100.00 Winners (2013, 2024) † 1 5 4 0 0 (0/0) 1 100.00 Winners (2013) † 7 37 27 10 0 (0/0) 0 72.97 Winners (2015) 6 33 19 14 0 (0/0) 0 57.57 Runners-up (2024) 7 36 16 20 0 (0/0) 0 44.44 Runners-up (2019) 5 24 11 13 0 (0/0) 0 45.83 Semi-finals (2018, 2019) † 5 23 9 14 0 (0/0) 0 39.13 Semi-finals (2015, 2022) 6 31 10 20 1 (0/1) 0 32.25 Semi-finals (2013, 2026) 3 15 5 9 1 (1/0) 0 40.00 Semi-finals (2024) 4 21 4 17 0 (0/0) 0 19.04 Second round (2026) 2 9 3 6 0 (0/0) 0 33.33 First round (2018, 2024) 2 9 0 9 0 (0/0) 0 0.00 First round (2019, 2026) 1 5 2 3 0 (0/0) 0 40.00 First round (2015) 1 4 1 3 0 (0/0) 0 25.00 First round (2013) 1 4 1 3 0 (0/0) 0 25.00 First round (2026) 1 4 1 3 0 (0/0) 0 25.00 First round (2024) 1 4 0 4 0 (0/0) 0 0.00 First round (2013) As of 2026 Women's T20 World Cup Global QualifierSource: Cricinfo
Debutant teams by tournament † denotes Test playing nations / ICC full members at that time. + Debutant teams in each Women's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier tournament Year Debutant teams Total 2013 8 † † 2015 † 4 2018 2 2019 2 2022 colspan="4" 0 2024 1 2026 1 Total 18
Records