The road to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 for 24 European teams has been confirmed, as an expanded regional qualification process for the Men's T20 World Cup is set to begin in May 2020.
Three Europe qualifying events will take place and will see Hungary, Roma, and Serbia making their debut performances in ICC competition, with Bulgaria, Greece, Luxembourg, and Malta all returning to ICC events for the first time in a number of years.
Each Europe qualifier will provide the opportunity for the winning team to progress to the Europe Final, where they will join Jersey to compete for two spots in the Global Qualifiers.
Europe Qualifier A will be hosted in Spain from May 16 to 22. Alongside the hosts will be Italy, Norway, France, Bulgaria, Israel, Malta, and Cyprus.
Italy and Norway will both be looking to reach the Europe Final once again, whilst Bulgaria and Malta will be looking to make a good impression in their first appearance in the revised ICC Men's T20 World Cup pathway.
Europe Qualifier C will be held in Belgium, who will be hoping for the benefits of home advantage when they host the event from June 10 to 16. Alongside Belgium will be Denmark, Austria, Roma, Czech Republic, Portugal, Isle of Man and Serbia.
Denmark, which progressed to the Europe Final in the previous iteration of this event and are currently ranked 29th in the ICC team rankings, will be hoping to replicate that success and secure the sole qualification spot.
The final qualifier will take place between June 24 to 30, where Finland will play host to an ICC event for the first time with Europe Qualifier B.
Germany, who missed out on progressing from the previous Europe Final by just 0.053 on net run rate, will be looking for another opportunity to reach the global stage but will face stiff competition from Guernsey, Sweden, Luxembourg, Hungary, Gibraltar, Greece and hosts Finland.
ICC Regional Development Manager Europe, Andy Wright said: "We are delighted to announce the dates and hosts for three important events that are taking place this summer. 24 European teams will have the opportunity to compete in an expanded qualification process to qualify for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021. We are also thrilled that Finland will be hosting an ICC event for the first time, showcasing the appetite and ability of our Members to host international events."
The winning team from each of the three Europe Qualifiers will progress to a four-team Europe Final, where they will be joined by reigning Europe Final victors Jersey. The top two teams from this event will qualify for the Global Qualifier events, taking them just one step from the main event in India.
( With inputs from ANI )
