Caribbean Premier League Women CPL-W launch schedule 2027

Cricket West Indies has confirmed the launch of the Caribbean Premier League Women (CPL-W) for 2027, with six franchises, a 22-match league phase across 24 days, and the women's tournament running in direct dovetail with the men's CPL window (August to September). The launch is the largest women's franchise cricket investment outside the WPL (India) and the Hundred (England), and signals CWI's commitment to women's-cricket development after years of senior squad-only programming.

The six-franchise structure and venue partnerships

The CPL-W's six franchises mirror the men's CPL franchise alignment but with separately licensed brands: Trinbago Knight Riders Women, Guyana Amazon Warriors Women, Barbados Royals Women, St Lucia Kings Women, Antigua Sailors Women (replacing the men's Antigua and Barbuda Falcons brand), and Jamaica Tallawahs Women. The franchise ownership: existing men's CPL franchises retain primary ownership of the women's brand, with CWI's central commercial arm taking a 20 percent stake in each. The venue partnerships: Queens Park Oval (Trinidad), Providence Stadium (Guyana), Kensington Oval (Barbados), Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium (St Lucia), Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (Antigua), Sabina Park (Jamaica). The CPL-W schedule places three matches at each venue across the league phase, with the playoff phase rotating to a high-capacity venue (likely Kensington Oval).

The 22-match league phase and the playoff structure

The CPL-W 22-match league phase: each of the six franchises plays 7 round-robin matches across 24 days, with two rest days built in. The schedule opens 12 August 2027 with the Trinbago Knight Riders Women hosting Guyana Amazon Warriors Women at Queens Park Oval. The league phase closes 4 September 2027 with the playoff phase running 6 to 10 September. The playoff structure: top four progress, with qualifier 1 between top two seeds (winner to final), eliminator between seeds 3 and 4, qualifier 2 between the loser of qualifier 1 and winner of eliminator. The final is scheduled for 10 September 2027. The CPL men's tournament runs in parallel during the league-phase weeks, with the women's matches typically scheduled as day matches and men's as evening fixtures at the same venues. Watch our CPL 2026 schedule reference for the men's tournament context.

The player draft and overseas-player allocation

The CPL-W player draft is scheduled for late June 2027, with each franchise selecting up to 16 players (8 West Indies players, 4 overseas players, 4 emerging-territory and youth players). The overseas-player allocation is the structural innovation: CWI's framework requires each franchise to sign at least one player from a country outside the WPL and Hundred overseas-player pools, prioritising Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Ireland women's-cricket development. The senior West Indies players (Hayley Matthews, Aaliyah Alleyne, Stafanie Taylor, Shemaine Campbelle, Deandra Dottin) will be available subject to CWI senior-squad commitments. The salary structure: the highest-paid player tier (5 players per franchise) earns 75,000 USD for the season, the second tier (5 players) earns 35,000 USD, and the development tier (6 players) earns 12,000 USD.

Why the launch matters: women's-cricket calendar maturity

The CPL-W launch fills the August-September window for women's franchise cricket. The WPL (India) runs February to March, the Hundred (England) runs late July to mid-August, the WBBL (Australia) runs November to December, and the SA20 women's competition (planned for 2028) will run December to January. The CPL-W's August-September window dovetails with the men's CPL, allowing dual-broadcast inventory and shared venue costs. The wider women's cricket calendar gains a fifth franchise tournament, completing the year-round women's-cricket pathway for the senior international player pool. The career economics for senior West Indies women's players improve substantially with a home franchise tournament. See our Hayley Matthews deep dive for the senior-player context.

What changes and who benefits, who loses

The most likely outcome: the CPL-W launch succeeds in attracting broadcaster interest (Sky Sports Caribbean, ESPN Caribbean confirmed, and the global rights tender expected to attract Disney Hotstar, Sony and Channel 7 bids). The senior West Indies women's players gain new income streams and a home audience. The emerging West Indies women's pathway players get the structured trial platform that has been missing since the 2014 women's-cricket review. The losers: the Hundred women's competition, which faces competitive pressure for late-July overseas-player availability. The wider impact: women's cricket calendar maturity reaches a level comparable to men's cricket for the first time. For more context, see our Stafanie Taylor profile and the WPL 2027 schedule reference.