Global Winners of ICC Development Awards

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the global winners of the ICC Development Awards 2025, celebrating the outstanding programmes, initiatives and performances driving the growth of cricket around the globe.

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

The Emirates Cricket Board had an immensely successful year in 2025 and left the gala event with three prizes. The first of which is the Marriott Bonvoy ICC Development Initiative of the Year, which the Emirates Cricket Board claimed in recognition of its landmark Girls U15 Academy League. A first for the region, the initiative delivered impact far beyond the boundaries of cricket, creating opportunity, inclusion and belief for young girls who previously had limited access to competitive sport.

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 Türkiye Cricket collected the honour. 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 Cricket Board’s Get into Cricket – Girls Only programme. The initiatives took cricket into schools, communities and emirates where opportunities for girls were previously limited or non-existent.

Meanwhile, Türkiye 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 programme 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 of the Year award after the UAE Women’s team made history against Zimbabwe. In their first-ever series in the 50-over format after gaining ODI status, they played out a 2-2 series draw against Zimbabwe before winning the subsequent T20I series 2-0 to secure a maiden series victory against a higher-ranked Full Member nation on foreign soil.

In the equivalent men’s category, Federazione Cricket Italiana lifted the ICC Associate Member Men’s Team Performance of the Year award due to Italy’s historic qualification for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. With Scotland and the Netherlands among the favourites to progress from the Europe Qualifier in Rotterdam, Italy upset the odds by defeating Scotland in the decisive match to seal a spot at their first-ever ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

The Japan Cricket Association received the ICC Digital Fan Engagement of the Year award for an innovative campaign that connected physical visibility with digital growth. The campaign included a cricket-themed rebrand of the station closest to the Sano International Cricket Ground created with Tobu Railway, and a content and distribution partnership with CricTracker that amplified stories to new audiences. The digital campaign delivered 61 million views, with 98 percent coming from non-followers, and generated more than 9,000 new followers in a month.

It was the Confederação Brasileira de Cricket who emerged victorious in the ICC Cricket 4 Good Social Impact Initiative of the Year category, earning the award for its Women’s University Program. The initiative has financially supported 42 young participants from the Cricket Brasil development project in accessing university education, many of whom are the first in their families to attend university. It has also helped increase female participation in the leadership stream from 25% to 50%, with women now representing 52% of all programme participants.

Finally, the Nigeria Cricket Federation won the ICC x Rexona criiio Cricket Festival of the Year award for its criiio Cricket Festival in Zamfara State. Delivered under the theme “Breaking Barriers”, the festival took cricket to a region where access to sport and education for girls has historically been limited. The initiative combined participation, culture and community support to challenge barriers, advance inclusion and create a sustainable legacy for women’s cricket in Northwest Nigeria.

ICC Chairman, Mr Jay Shah, said: “These Awards were established to celebrate the extraordinary work being delivered by our Associate Members around the world, and this year’s winners are outstanding examples of how cricket can inspire participation, create opportunity, strengthen communities and deliver performances that capture global attention.

“Congratulations to all the exceptional winners of the ICC Development Awards 2025. You serve as a great inspiration to the global cricket community, and these initiatives display the strength, reach and potential of the sport across every region. I am excited to see the legacy they leave and the further growth they help drive in the years to come.”

The judging panel for the ICC Development Awards was as follows:

Edward Khoza (Cricket South Africa), Kent Stead (New Zealand Cricket), Elaine Nolan (Cricket Ireland), KJ Singh (Cricket West Indies), Naseeb Khan (Afghanistan Cricket Board), Samuel Badree (former West Indies men’s player), Kevin O’Brien (former Ireland men’s player), Mary-Anne Musonda (former Zimbaber women’s player), Cynthia McCaffrey (UNICEF), Daniel van Otterdijk (DP World), Daniel Beswick (Media), Paul Radley (Media)

Complete winners of the ICC Development Awards 2025

Marriott Bonvoy ICC Development Initiative of The Year

Winner: Emirates Cricket Board

Emirates ICC Female Cricket Initiative of the Year 2025

Winners: Emirates Cricket Board, Türkiye Cricket

ICC Associate Member Women’s Team Performance of the Year 2025

Winner: Emirates Cricket Board

ICC Associate Member Men’s Team Performance of the Year 2025

Winner: Federazione Cricket Italiana

ICC Digital Fan Engagement of the Year 2025

Winner: Japan Cricket Association

ICC Cricket 4 Good Social Impact Initiative of the Year 2025

Winner: Confederação Brasileira de Cricket

ICC x Rexona criiio Cricket Festival of the Year

Winner: Nigeria Cricket Federation