When we talk about cricket, it feels like a sport that started in Europe in the early 17th century and later evolved globally. Specifically, with British rule, this sport was brought to Asia. Now it is the most popular game in Asia, more specifically in the South Asian region, including countries like Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. These nations now hold a great sporting history where they are combined four-time world champions, just behind Australia.

Somewhere, Europeans forgot that they were the inventors of this sport. They only have 2 spots for the 2026 T20 World Cup. In this International Cricket Council event, there are only four European teams, while five Asian teams directly qualify, and there are three spots for the Asia and East Asia Pacific regions to reach the mega event. This means a total of eight spots for Asian sides, where this sport was introduced by European explorers. Somewhere, it feels like, due to European interest in football, cricket was neglected.

Europe’s forgotten legacy

For a general audience in Europe, not many people play cricket. Even Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium), the football star, stated a similar thing in an interview. For sure, it will surprise you that there are 35 members in the European Cricket Association, which is more than any other region. The Asian Cricket Association has 30, while the African Cricket Association has 24. This means the region is focusing on this sport. Currently, many big European countries are part of the European Cricket Association.

One country that has a deep and long history is Denmark, where the Danish team has had some amazing results over the years. On August 16th, they beat Kenya, one of the well-known teams in the cricket circuit, by 188 runs. This association became part of ICC in 1966, which was before Bangladesh (1977) and Afghanistan (2001) from Asia, before Zimbabwe (1981) and Namibia (1992) in Africa, and before Ireland (1993) in Europe. Similarly, Jersey and Norway also have a great history and present.

Why Europe struggles

That’s the biggest question we have to ponder. Nations that had a brief cricketing history never made it into ICC tournaments. For that, we have to look at the European cricket landscape. In Asia, there is the Asia Cup, where many Asian countries participate for prestige. But in Europe, there is nothing like that. They had a tournament, which worked as qualifiers. The issue was that for that event, you had to be considered in the ICC ranking. That’s why it did not work for them, and later changed to 20 overs from 50 overs, and now T10. It was a humiliation of the beautiful sport. Cricket is more popular in the European population in England and other pocket regions. It does not have the same political weight as football, where local, national, and international rivalries boost it. But in Europe, it still feels like a diaspora sport where mostly immigrants play and make it popular. Over the years, many countries still have not been able to make this sport their own.

Signs of growth

That’s the question we always think about: will Europe have a future in this sport? Many new countries are active in this sport from the grassroots level to the senior level. Even countries like Slovakia are trying to fit into European teams. Major countries like Germany and Italy are emerging as big names in European cricket, expanding their grassroots development and infrastructure. Italy qualified for the T20 World Cup 2026 for the first time, scheduled in India and Sri Lanka. Not only them, but Spain, Belgium, and France are also showing rapid improvement toward grassroots infrastructure for future events. Here, the T10 and T20 leagues of Europe are also playing a part in expanding exposure to the sport. ICC is also funding many countries to improve grassroots structure and coaching staff. So there are many things going on to keep Europeans in cricket.

Olympic opportunity

The cherry on the cake is that cricket is returning to the Olympics, where the Los Angeles Olympics 2028 will feature a competitive six-team tournament from across the globe. Here, some emerging teams will get the chance to face cricketing giants like India and South Africa, which they may never have had until they qualify for an ICC event. This opportunity is also pushing many European giants to invest and move toward this sport. But the continuity of cricket in the Olympics will decide its future in global regions.

Looking ahead

Till now, we have just hope that we will see new entries in cricketing events at the global level. Italy’s journey showcased the passion and resilience that, despite being a footballing giant, you can be good at cricket as well. Also, somewhere in Europe, this sport still has its roots alive. In the future, we will have many other big nations like Germany, Spain, and France in ICC World Cups.