Dubai, 30 October: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has launched criiio Day, an annual celebration of grassroots cricket to be held on 1 November, after its criiio programme passed one million players worldwide.
criiio is the ICC’s entry-level programme, started in 2021 and built on the idea that cricket can be played anytime, anywhere, by anyone. Its free curriculum is available in 18 languages.
The one millionth player
The one millionth player is Saidat Hamzat, a 13-year-old from Lagos State, Nigeria. She took up the game after a criiio festival came to her school.
“Cricket has given me purpose, discipline and joy; it has changed my life,” Saidat said. Her mother, Aisha Abeke Hamzat, said she hoped one day to see her daughter play for Nigeria.
Where the players are
Sixty-five ICC Associate Members run national criiio programmes, and all 12 Full Members, including India, have certified criiio trainers. Participants are split evenly between girls and boys, or women and men.
Africa has produced more than 400,000 players, the most of any continent. Brazil leads individual countries with nearly 200,000, and Bhutan has passed 100,000. In Tanzania, a Swahili-language version called Chanzo Cricket has led the government to make cricket a priority sport in all 3,542 of its secondary schools.
The ICC says it has handed out about 5,000 cricket sets through the programme with logistics partner DP World. A few criiio players have already reached national age-group sides, including Argentina’s Luna Olivera, who was picked for the women’s under-19 team in 2026, and Nigeria’s Chisom Mary Okpe.
LA28 in view
ICC chief executive Sanjog Gupta linked the programme to cricket’s return at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. “As cricket prepares for its return to the Olympic Games at LA28, we have a generational opportunity to introduce the sport to millions around the world,” he said.
The date, 1.11, is a nod to the three i’s in the criiio name, which represent the stumps of a wicket. The first edition is being marked with a digital campaign, with members asked to share stories using #criiioDay.
Earlier this week the ICC also launched its Umpire Level 2 course.
