New European T20 league to launch this year as cricket legend confirms investment

Cricket legend Steve Waugh is set to help the sport flourish in what he terms its "last great frontier" after investing in an Amsterdam franchise for a proposed T20 league across Europe.

The European T20 Premier League is slated to commence in August, with organisers announcing the first three participating franchises – Amsterdam, Edinburgh, and Belfast – at a Sydney news conference on Wednesday.

The venture plans to include three additional teams, aiming to tap into continental Europe’s largely unexploited cricket market.

Waugh, a former Australia captain and one of the nation’s most celebrated players, will co-own the Amsterdam team.

He expressed his enthusiasm for introducing the sport to a new region, stating: "This opportunity stood out because it is driven by aspiration and long-term thinking. In many ways, it marks a return to the game for me — but in a very different role.

“This is about helping uphold the standards and spirit of cricket while supporting its growth into Europe, which remains the game’s last great frontier."

Reports from the BBC indicate that Australian stars Steve Smith and Mitch Marsh have already signed with the Amsterdam side.

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Marsh is set to lead the Australian national team when the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka gets underway next month.

Meanwhile, a consortium led by current Australia T20 international Glenn Maxwell will own the Belfast franchise, and former New Zealand cricketers Nathan McCullum and Kyle Mills will take ownership of Edinburgh.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has officially sanctioned the league. Saurav Banerjee, a co-founder of the competition, highlighted Europe’s 34 ICC member nations as an "under-commercialised" region, presenting "a significant opportunity for structured growth."

He added: "Through professional governance, a franchise-based structure and long-term discipline, ETPL aims to catalyse sustainable commercial growth and elevate European cricket on the global stage."