The 2026 tournament has already broken the record for tickets sales at a Women's T20 World Cup. The Women's T20 World Cup in England can "coexist" with the ongoing football World Cup rather than being overshadowed, says the International Cricket Council's chief executive Sanjog Gupta.

England opened the T20 World Cup with a thumping win over Sri Lanka on Friday in front of a crowd of 14,865 fans at Edgbaston. Organisers hope the tournament can have a similar impact to the women's football and rugby union tournaments won by England's Lionesses and Red Roses in 2022 and 2025 respectively, but the event faces a battle for eyeballs with the football in North America.

"The Fifa Men's World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico is being broadcast in timings which are very different from the Women's T20 World Cup in England and Wales," Gupta told BBC Sport. "We've not seen any impact on ticket sales, if anything the ticket sales have been stronger than ever. If the weather holds up then we will have a fantastic tournament which will stand in its own right. It is not in any way being played in the shadow."

Ticket sales for this tournament have already passed the previous record for a Women's T20 World Cup. They currently stand around 220,000 - a figure the ICC is keen to push towards 300,000. That would almost double the number who attended the 2020 Women's T20 World Cup in Australia.

Though Friday's Birmingham attendance was encouraging, Edgbaston was not sold out. A crowd of around 8,000 is expected at Old Trafford on Saturday for the double header which features Ireland's meeting with Scotland and Australia against South Africa.

Unlike the last 50-over women's World Cup in England in 2017, this tournament is being played at the UK's biggest cricket venues meaning there are plenty of seats to fill. Tickets are still available for Sunday's showpiece meeting between India and Pakistan in Edgbaston, a number of England's other fixtures and the majority of other non-England matches.

It is hoped the impressive nature of England's win on Friday - Danni Wyatt-Hodge scored a stunning 105 not out as the hosts won by 87 runs - can drive further ticket sales.

Speaking after the win, Wyatt-Hodge said: "The atmosphere felt incredible. The crowd were cheering me on and it gave me goosebumps. Hopefully people have watched on TV and we have inspired them to come and watch us live."

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