ECB Plans to Launch World Club Championship — A New Era in Franchise Cricket

More than a decade after the discontinuation of the Champions League T20 (CLT20), the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is considering reviving the idea of a global franchise-based T20 competition — the World Club Championship. If materialized, this could mark the beginning of a new era in global club cricket.

ECB Chief Executive Richard Gould recently told ESPNcricinfo, “Given the massive expansion of T20 franchises worldwide, this is a logical next step. A World Club Championship — for both men’s and women’s teams — is something the game now demands.”

The original Champions League T20, jointly run by India’s BCCI, Cricket Australia, and Cricket South Africa, was discontinued after 2014 due to low viewership and limited commercial viability. But Gould believes, “That tournament came too early. The landscape has changed significantly since then.”

Over the past five years, several new short-format leagues have emerged across the globe — including The Hundred in England, SA20 in South Africa, ILT20 in the UAE, and MLC in the United States. Other sports are also moving toward club-based global championships, such as the 32-team FIFA Club World Cup and the Rugby Club World Cup slated for 2028.

One of the major challenges in implementing the new World Club Championship is finding a suitable window in the international cricket calendar and securing the support of IPL franchise owners. Notably, 8 out of the 10 IPL teams and 4 out of 5 WPL teams have stakes in overseas leagues. Speaking on the matter, IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal stated, “If it adds global value to cricket, we are open to considering it.”

Should the tournament proceed, it is expected that the winning team from The Hundred — rather than the T20 Blast — would represent England.

Interestingly, while Gould supports the idea of a global championship, he recently opposed a Saudi-backed proposal for a 'Grand Slam' T20 league, stating, “There’s no demand or space for such an initiative.”

Meanwhile, Guyana has already launched its own Global Super League, involving champion teams from five different franchise leagues. Its second edition is scheduled for July, featuring teams from the Big Bash, Super Smash, and ILT20 — though it remains an invitation-only event.

If successfully launched, the World Club Championship could serve as cricket’s most definitive franchise-based global tournament — a concept whose time may finally have come.