The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that its women's tournaments will have separate sponsors from 2025 onwards. This move is aimed at giving more prominence to these events and distinguishing them from the men's competitions. The initiative will apply to the 2025 ODI World Cup, 2026 T20 World Cup, and 2027 Champions Trophy. The ICC has already partnered with Unilever for these tournaments, marking a significant shift in commercial strategy. Here's more. ICC Chief Commercial Officer Anurag Dahiya discussed the new sponsorship strategy with ESPNcricinfo and stated, It is the first time we've offered commercial opportunities specifically for our women's cricket events and we see this partnership as a significant marker of confidence in the standalone value of women's cricket. Dahiya emphasized that this separation positions women's cricket as a standalone, high-potential commercial product rather than just an add-on to men's events. Dahiya emphasized the increasing interest in women's cricket as a major reason behind the decision to have separate sponsors. We see an acceleration of growth across metrics, whether it's in stadia or on broadcast and digital platforms, he observed. We've broken audience records steadily over the last few years, he added, underscoring the increasing popularity of these events among fans. The 2023 T20 World Cup set a record for a women's pool match, with 15,935 fans attending the India-Pakistan clash. Meanwhile, the final between New Zealand and South Africa was also sold out. This marked the third consecutive women's T20 World Cup final with a full house, following Newlands in 2023 and the MCG in 2020. The 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup was the most-watched edition, with viewership soaring by 790% from 2020. This growth is expected to continue as the tournament expands. Starting in 2026, the T20 World Cup will feature 12 teams, up from 10 since 2016. The addition of a T20 Champions Trophy from 2027 ensures there's an annual women's ICC event. Dahiya said the expansion of events has been giving a lot of momentum. The expansion of events has also been giving us a lot of momentum, Dahiya said. The calendar has introduced new events like the Under-19 women's T20 World Cup and the women's Champions Trophy. These upcoming editions will have more participating teams, providing more opportunities for players and fans to enjoy content from these apex events.