Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier

The ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier is an international cricket tournament that serves as the final step of the qualification process for the Women's Cricket World Cup.

The Women's World Cup was first held in 1973, and for the first seven editions participation was determined solely by invitation, issued at the discretion of the International Women's Cricket Council (IWCC).^[1] A qualification tournament was first held in 2003 (for the 2005 World Cup), which was hosted by the Netherlands and won by Ireland.^[2] Subsequent tournaments have been held in 2008, hosted by South Africa and won by Pakistan; in 2011, hosted by Bangladesh and won by the West Indies; in 2017, hosted by Sri Lanka and won by India; the abandoned 2021 edition hosted by Zimbabwe; and the 2025 edition hosted by Pakistan.^[3][4]

The inaugural event in 2003 was organised by the IWCC and branded as the IWCC Trophy. The IWCC was subsumed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2005, and all other editions have been known simply as the World Cup Qualifier. The number of teams and qualifying places has varied at each tournament – in 2003, six teams competed for two qualifying spots, while at the next edition (in 2008) eight teams contested two qualifying spots. The 2011 event, as well as 2021, saw ten teams compete for three qualifying places, and the 2017 tournament featured ten teams and four qualifying places.^[5] The 2011 and 2017 editions were also used to determine Women's ODI status, and the 2021 edition was originally intended to also decide entry to an expanded ICC Women's Championship; due to its abandonment, it was ultimately decided by rankings instead. The 2025 edition reverted to the same format as the 2003 edition.