275. Women’s FTP 2025-29: Observations & Takeaways

Hi there! Welcome to Episode 275 of Never on the Backfoot Podcast. The ICC has unveiled the 2025-2029 Future Tours Programme, which outlines the fixtures for the fourth edition of the ICC Women’s Championship. This cycle, set to shape the lineup for the 2029 Women’s Cricket World Cup, will expand to feature 11 teams – one more than the current 10. Notably, Zimbabwe will make their debut in the tournament, marking a significant step toward broader global representation in women’s cricket. The second women’s FTP that runs from May 2025 to April 2029, is a collective effort from its Members with the support of the ICC and aims to provide clarity around international fixtures across all three international formats with about 400 matches confirmed for the period. In this episode, we discuss the FTP and its implications for the world of women’s cricket. On the podcast today for this discussion, we have Mohit Shah joining us. He is a freelance journalist who has been associated with ESPNcricinfo, ESPN and Women's CricZone in the past. A self-proclaimed cricket vegetable, he loves talking and reading about Olympic sports, kabaddi, and movies as well. Do check out @neveronthebackfoot on Instagram and Threads and @neverontheback1 on Twitter (now called X) for the latest facts, updates, fresh content and a lot more coming up this cricket season.  The podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Spotify for Podcasters and many other platforms and spread the word. Never on the Backfoot is also on YouTube so don’t forget to subscribe to the channel and stay tuned for a lot of insightful content coming up there as well. Until next time, stay safe and take care, listeners! 🌻