The World Cup, which was initially set to take place in 2021, was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and rescheduled for January 2023.
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The qualification process for the inaugural ICC Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup, which will be hosted in South Africa in January 2023, will begin on June 3 with as many as 19 teams from Asia, Europe, and East Asia-Pacific (EAP), and Africa is vying for four slots.
The Asia Qualifier, which will take place in Malaysia from June 3 to 9, will kick off the process. The Asia Qualifier will feature six teams—Bhutan, Malaysia, Nepal, Thailand, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates—competing in 15 matches, with the victor securing a spot in the main tournament.
Two teams will compete in the EAP (Indonesia, PNG) and Europe (Netherlands, Scotland) qualifiers in July and August, while nine teams will compete in Botswana for the Africa title.
The U19 Women's T20 World Cup will feature 16 teams, with 11 full-member countries receiving direct berths: Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, and Zimbabwe.
Four of the remaining five seats will be selected through regional qualifiers. The fifth spot will be given to the United States because it is the only Associate nation qualified to participate in the Americas area under the ICC's Event Pathway Participation Criteria.
The World Cup, scheduled for 2021 but postponed due to the COVID-19 epidemic, has been rescheduled for January 2023.
It will serve as a warm-up for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup, which will be held at the same venue, and South Africa will host it in February 2023.
"We are ecstatic to promote the development of young female players by hosting the U19 Women's T20 World Cup on the eve of the senior tournament in South Africa," said the organizer, Chris Tetley, the ICC's Head of Events, stated.
"We are delighted to see how the inaugural ICC U19 Women's Cricket World Cup will accelerate the growth of women's cricket and boost the number of elite international playing chances for females at this age group in the years to come."
Aminul Islam, Asia Regional Development Manager, said he was looking forward to the qualifier in his region and felt it would be a useful tool for spotting new potential.
"We're about to embark on an amazing adventure in which some of Asia's most promising young female talent will compete in Malaysia next week," he added.
"All of the teams playing are hoping to make history by competing in the first-ever ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup, and there's no doubt we'll witness some fantastic cricket to determine who qualifies." Participants will have the chance to attend a high-performance seminar during the tournament as part of the ICC Asia event legacy.
Schedule of Qualifiers: