Cricket West Indies (CWI) is undertaking a thorough bid process for Caribbean countries wanting to host the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, which will be held in the West Indies and USA in June next year.
Countries have been required to demonstrate their ability to deliver a world-class venue and stage the matches by providing match and training facilities, undergo a venue inspection, provide immigration, customs, medical and security support, as well as other operational and logistical requirements including accommodation for the members of the teams, match officials and broadcast crew.
Visits to Caribbean venues that are contemplating submitting proposals to host ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 matches started on Wednesday, 26 April. A small team will visit each country to look at facilities and discuss the pathway to becoming a host country. A similar process will also be followed to identify venues to host matches in USA.
Countries selected will have the opportunity to promote themselves to a global audience of over one billion people from all over the world. This tournament will also inject significant investment into the economy of each host nation.
“We are delighted that the next edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will take place in the West Indies and the USA. Of course, the Caribbean is a region rich in cricket culture where fans can enjoy a carnival experience with a fine tradition of producing exciting and flamboyant cricketing stars across all formats of the game,” said Geoff Allardice, CEO of ICC.
“The T20 World Cup is a special event in the calendar and this upcoming edition of the men’s event will expand to 20 teams competing to claim the ultimate prize in T20 international cricket. All host countries play an important role in the provision of world class venues, training facilities and services for players and officials, with the upgrade of any facilities providing a lasting legacy for the game in the West Indies.”
Johnny Grave, CEO of CWI said hosting the World Cup is an opportunity to spur economic growth across the region.
“This will be the most significant sports event held in the West Indies for a generation, helping us to unlock new commercial and economic growth opportunities for the ICC, CWI and our region as a whole,” he said.
“This will be the fifth ICC global event that we have proudly staged, 14 years since we last hosted a Men's World Cup event, and this time it will be bigger than ever. The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 will be co-hosted with the USA and is the largest ICC World Cup in history, with 20 teams playing 55 matches.
“This tournament will be a major financial boost to the West Indies and all our host countries as it's the perfect opportunity to invite the world to the biggest cricket carnival ever staged. CWI aims to partner once again with our regional governments to ensure that we collectively capitalize on this fantastic platform to promote the region to the world.”
Grave added that hosting the tournament will be an “opportunity for us to rebuild our cricket, re-engage our traditional cricket supporters and attract a new generation of fans. Cricket has always been part of our culture and we will celebrate this tournament by providing memorable experiences for teams and cricket fans on and off the field that will blend the unique Caribbean matchday experience with the very best in American sporting entertainment.”
The format of the tournament will see the 20 teams participating – with four groups of five teams in the first round. Each team will play one match against the other teams in the group. The top two teams from each group will move into the Super8s stage and these eight teams will be spilt into two groups of four with each team playing one match against the other teams in top two teams from each group of the Super8s will advance to the Semi-Finals.
This is the second time that the West Indies will have hosted the event, with the first time back in 2010. West Indies have won the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on two occasions – in 2012 in Sri Lanka and 2016 in India.