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 of the Year award after the national side 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 favorites 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 had 61 million views, with 98 percent from non-followers, and over 9,000 new followers in a month.
The Confederacao Brasileira de Cricket 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 financially supported 42 young participants from the Cricket Brasil development project to access university education, many of whom are the first in their families to do so. It also helped increase female leadership from 25 percent to 50 percent, with women now representing 52 percent of all program participants.
The Nigeria Cricket Federation won the ICC x Rexona Criiio Cricket Festival of the Year award for its event 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 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.”
The judging panel for the awards: 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 Zimbabwe women’s player), Cynthia McCaffrey (UNICEF), Daniel van Otterdijk (DP World), Daniel Beswick (Media), Paul Radley (Media).
Winners of the 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, Turkiye 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: Confederacao Brasileira de Cricket
ICC x Rexona Criiio Cricket Festival of the Year
Winner: Nigeria Cricket Federation
