Global winners of ICC Development Awards announced

DUBAI: The International Cricket Council has announced the winners of the ICC Development Awards 2025, celebrating the outstanding programs, initiatives and performances driving the game’s growth around the globe.

This year’s winners were selected from the regional nominees announced in June, recognizing excellence across seven categories spanning development and participation, female cricket initiatives, team performances, digital engagement and social impact.

The Emirates Cricket Board had a successful year in 2025 and won three prizes. The first honor was the Marriott Bonvoy ICC Development Initiative of the Year, for the board’s landmark Girls U15 Academy League.

For a second year in a row, the Emirates ICC Female Cricket Initiative of the Year was shared by two countries as both the Emirates Cricket Board and Turkiye Cricket collected the honor.

In the UAE, the legacy of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 inspired a nationwide movement to grow girls’ cricket through the Interschool Criiio Gulf Cup and the emirates’ Get into Cricket – Girls Only program. The initiatives took cricket into schools, communities and emirates where opportunities for girls were previously limited or non-existent.

Turkiye Cricket were rewarded for delivering the largest celebration of ICC Women’s Cricket Week across Europe in 2025, with more than 3,000 young girls from 20 provinces across the country participating in the festivities.

The program included softball festivals, ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 watch parties and a coaching webinar for female coaches, which served as inspiration for everyone from schoolgirls to the national team.

The Emirates Cricket Board also received the ICC Associate Member Women’s Team Performance