Photo Credit: Cricket South Africa
Two ICC Women’s T20 World Cups to increase participation and empowerment through cricket
Thousands of women and girls will benefit from the legacy of the ICC U19 and senior Women’s T20 World Cups in South Africa. The Legacy Project, launched today, will shape the future of women’s cricket in the country and impact all aspects of the growth of the game. The Project will focus on professionalizing women’s cricket, increasing women’s cricket participation across all pathway programmes, developing leaders within the pipeline, capacity building and promoting gender equality and empowerment through cricket.
The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup starting on 10 February alone will impact nearly 60 000 women and girls across schools, clubs and surrounding communities. The event opens up opportunities for South Africans to be a part of history and to make their mark on the sport.
It is the ‘Year of Women’ as South Africa prepares to host the biggest celebration of women’s cricket in its history this January and February. The sport will be in the spotlight as the world’s best cricketers compete on the biggest stage for the ultimate prize in T20 cricket, but it is the action behind the scenes that will leave a lasting mark on young women and girls involved in the game.
“It’s important for the two ICC Women’s T20 World Cups to leave a lasting impact on the game in our country,” ICC Women’s T20 World Cup LOC Chairlady, Muditambi Ravele explained. “We have a mandate to ensure women’s cricket continues to grow and that it becomes accessible to more women and young girls who want to participate in it. We hope the hosting of these events will inspire the next generation of women’s cricketers and also empower women through sport. We want to develop leaders who can help shape the future of the sport.”
The Women’s T20 World Cup Trophy Tour driven by Nissan has made several stops at schools in Gqeberha, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, giving the next generation an opportunity to get close to the coveted silverware and an introduction to women’s cricket. The schools community is one of the most important groups to benefit from the Legacy Project, with many young girls first picking up a bat and ball and taking interest in the sport at that level.
The Project will facilitate workshops and training for rising coaches and umpires, providing an invaluable skills transfer to filter down the pipeline. Young leaders will be mentored through several Leadership Workshops aimed at uplifting more women in leadership positions in cricket.
Fans can be a part of the legacy by purchasing their tickets to all matches from 10 – 26 February taking place at Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town, Boland Park in Paarl and St George’s Park in Gqeberha. Tickets can be purchased here.
Key Focus areas of Legacy Project
Increasing Participation of women across all pathway programs – Grow players, coaches, match officials (scorers and umpires), administration and fans for the game.
Promoting gender equality and women empowerment through cricket – Create more leadership role players within the cricket landscape by making the game of cricket a career option and advocating successful stories of women in cricket.
Professionalisation of Women’s Cricket – CSA currently offers 15 National Contracts, 10 High Performance Contracts and 30 Semi-Professional Contracts to the top six Provinces playing in the Division 1 National League. The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup journey needs to inspire more role players into the space (commercially) to contribute positively to the professionalization of the Domestic Women’s Pathway (outcome of making the game of cricket a career option and access to new T20 Leagues). This will give SA a footprint as one of the key role players globally.
Leadership workshops – In this initiative we will bring together partners and beneficiaries to take part in online workshops in the build up to the Women’s T20 World Cup. Face to Face leadership workshops for twenty women’s administrators at the national office and Member Board women and administrators. This will support and promote women in leadership positions through cricket.
Name of Author: Cricket South Africa
Cricket South Africa (CSA) governs cricket in South Africa. Formed in 2002, it succeeded the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCB) and became the sole governing body in 2008. CSA oversees all levels of cricket, including national teams for men and women, and is a full ICC member and SASCOC affiliate.
