ICC shelves World Club Championship until 2031 after Big Three block new tournaments
The International Cricket Council has shelved plans for a World Club Championship and any additional international multilateral tournaments until 2031 at the earliest, after months of informal discussions ran into firm resistance from cricket's "Big Three" of England, Australia and India.
A cricket operations workshop in Dubai last week — the latest stage in months of talks between the ICC and its member boards — concluded without any additional events being proposed. That means the next Future Tours Programme (FTP), covering 2027 to 2031, will largely mirror the current cycle, with the one possible change being an expansion of the World Test Championship to 12 teams from next year through the addition of Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe. The ICC has yet to issue finalised plans to its members.
Big Three stand firm as new concepts sink
The ICC had suggested a number of new concepts for discussion, including a World Club Championship and a series of four-team T20 competitions for international sides to take place during additional windows. The governing body is also eager to explore the possibility of staging quadrangular tournaments, conscious that the triangular format has declined in popularity in recent years — although England will travel to Pakistan this month for a series that also features Sri Lanka.
But England, Australia and India are adamant there is no space in the calendar for additional events unless the ICC removes existing tournaments such as the World Cups and the Champions Trophy — a prospect that has not even been discussed. One source involved in the discussions said there is "no appetite among the Big Three for additional multilateral events", while conceding there was interest from smaller nations. Another source described the proposed concepts bluntly as "an ICC landgrab".
A revenue squeeze lies behind the push for new events
Many of the ideas for new competitions stem from a strategic review conducted by the US consultants McKinsey, whose full report will be presented to ICC members at the next quarterly meeting in Bali next month. The review was commissioned because of ICC concern at the probability that the value of its media rights will fall significantly from next year, with the governing body's Indian rights deal viewed as unsustainable — and a desire to schedule additional events seen as the remedy.
The finances explain the anxiety. Disney Star paid $3.1bn for the ICC's rights in India between 2024 and 2027, but it has since merged with Viacom 18 to create JioStar, removing competition from the market. While the ICC sells its rights on a regional basis to 11 different territories, the Indian deal contributes the vast majority of its $3.5bn (£2.64bn) global broadcast revenues and cannot be replaced from elsewhere.
The ICC remains eager to explore new competitions as it seeks to grow the sport and its own revenues — a pursuit likely to keep it in tension with the so-called Big Three, although in reality India stand out on their own, generating about 70% of cricket's global revenue. The ICC declined to comment.
Bilateral schedules already locked in until 2031
While the FTP will not be finalised until next month's meeting in Bali, England, Australia and India have already agreed schedules involving each other until 2031. The Ashes takes place in England next summer as the first series of the next World Test Championship cycle, to be followed by a tour of Australia in 2029-30. England have also agreed to travel to India for a five-Test series in early 2028 before hosting them in 2029.
The FTP operates on a slightly different cycle to the ICC's TV rights sales, with the next auction covering the period from 2028 to 2032. That deal will feature two T20 World Cups, the 2029 Champions Trophy and the 2031 50-over World Cup.