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Emirates Cricket Board wins three ICC Development Awards
This year’s ICC Development Awards winners were selected from the regional nominees announced in June, recognising excellence across seven categories
- PUBLISHED: Tue 14 Jul 2026, 5:28 PM
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. The award ceremony took place in Edinburgh, Scotland during the ICC Annual Conference which concluded last weekend.
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.
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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.
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.
“These awards are a massive encouragement for the Emirates Cricket Board management, officials, players and support staff. We want to thank the International Cricket Council for creating this opportunity and recognition for Associate Members who overcome big challenges to deliver such initiatives," said Zayed Abbas, ECB Board Member.
"The success of our initiatives has renewed our commitment, passion and vigour and we are more determined than ever to produce a series of similar initiatives in the years ahead.
“The recognition that our women’s team has rightly earned has warmed our hearts and given us incredible motivation for the sustained growth and development of women’s cricket in the country. Our players have shown to the world their skills, abilities and determination to not only compete but to beat the ICC Full Members, which makes us immensely happy and proud."
