T20 crowds won’t be hit by football World Cup – ICCImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The 2026 tournament has already broken the record for tickets sales at a Women’s T20 World CupPublished33 minutes agoThe Women’s T20 World Cup in England can “coexist” with the ongoing football World Cup rather than being overshadowed, says the International Cricket Council’s chief executive Sanjog Gupta.England opened the T20 World Cup with a thumping win over Sri Lanka on Friday in front of a crowd of 14,865 fans at Edgbaston.
Organisers hope the tournament can have a similar impact to the women’s football and rugby union tournaments won by England’s Lionessess and Red Roses in 2022 and 2025 respectively, but the event faces a battle for eyeballs with the football in North America.
“The Fifa Men’s World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico is being broadcast in timings which are very different from the Women’s T20 World Cup in England and Wales,” Gupta told BBC Sport.
“We’ve not seen any impact on ticket sales, if anything the ticket sales have been stronger than ever.
“If the weather holds up then we will have a fantastic tournament which will stand in its own right. It is not in any way being played in the shadow.”
