ICC launches criiio Day, celebrating one million players enrolled

ICC have launched ‘criiio Day’, an annual global celebration of grassroots cricket on 1 November, to mark its criiio programme reaching one million players worldwide.

Designed to introduce the sport to new audiences through a free, adaptable curriculum available in 18 languages, criiio is ICC’s entry-level, globally accessible cricket programme. It is built around the principle that cricket can be played ‘anytime, anywhere, by anyone’.

Since it began in 2021, criiio has helped grow the sport by uniting the international cricket community, with the global movement having reached its one millionth player, Saidat Hamzat.

13-year-old Saidat, who hails from Lagos State, Nigeria, was initially confused about cricket. However, that changed when a criiio Festival arrived at her school. 

“Cricket has given me purpose, discipline and joy; it has changed my life,” Saidat said. 

“It makes me happy, and now I speak up more. My friends notice me and, at school, I’m the cricket-mad girl!”

Saidat’s mother also concedes that the sport has brought about a positive change in Saidat. “We see a happier daughter now, and that came from criiio. One day, I hope to see her in a Nigeria jersey,” she says. 

Marking Saidat’s milestone entry to the programme, criiio Day will mark a celebration of the programme’s global impact, giving ICC Members worldwide the chance to share stories, and inspire the next million to pick up a bat and ball.

“We are proud of the impact that criiio has had in just five years,” ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta said. 

“It is a truly transformative programme, demonstrating the power of ‘play’ to unite communities and change lives while keeping fun and discovery at its core.

“At its heart is a simple but powerful belief: ‘anytime, anywhere, anyone’ - universal access to our sport as a game, as a pastime or as leisure, with no barriers of entry. 

“Reaching one million criiio participants demonstrates what is possible when that belief is backed by the collective commitment of our members, partners and the ecosystem armed with adequate investment.  

“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, which can be harnessed by widened delivery of criiio programs, particularly aimed at children of all ages. 

“The Criiio Day marks the annual celebration of this movement, recognising participants, volunteers and communities shaping cricket’s future.” 

To ensure that the game is accessible across the world, the ICC has worked with its Official Global Logistics Partner, DP World, who have been a key enabler in distribution of approximately 5,000 cricket sets through criiio.

The programme has reached to different corners of the world, with 65 ICC Associate Members delivering national programmes and each of the ICC's 12 Full Members having certified criiio trainers, while its accessibility has created a 50:50 gender split among the 1,000,000 global participants. 

In Tanzania, criiio was adapted into the Swahili-language ‘Chanzo Cricket’ programme, and it has been so successful that the Tanzanian government has made cricket a priority sport for all 3,542 secondary schools in the country. Crucially, Chanzo Cricket will be the vehicle that rolls the sport out to schools nationwide. 

Meanwhile, in Japan, the criiio sessions have been held on padel courts beneath Tokyo Skytree; in Mongolia, they’ve played 1,600km from its capital city of Ulaanbaatar, across the country’s vast steppe; and in Chile, it has brought communities together through a migrant children’s programme. 

Africa has seen the most  the most criiio players (400,000+) of any continent, while Brazil leads as a single nation with nearly 200,000 participants, and Bhutan has surpassed 100,000.  

Argentina’s 14-year-old Luna Olivera and Nigeria’s Chisom Mary Okpe are shining examples of criiio beginning to produce its first international players.

Luna discovered criiio through the Cricket Sin Fronteras community programme in 2023 before being selected for Argentina's Women's U19 team in 2026. In Nigeria, Chisom Mary Okpe was introduced to cricket through a school criiio session in 2025 before rapidly progressing to Nigeria’s U19 team, and she could feature at next year’s ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup.

The date (1 November, 1.11) that marks criiio Day directly nods to the three i's in criiio's branding, which represent the stumps and bails that make up a wicket. 

The inaugural edition will be celebrated through a global digital campaign, with ICC Members encouraged to share their stories on social media using #criiioDay.

Find out more about criiio.