ETPL Season 1 Report 2026: The Business Review

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• The opportunity for cricket in Europe 
• How the 32-match season played out 
• Audience, broadcast and social media 
• Team sponsorship and visible commercial inventory 
• League and franchise economics 
• Benchmarks against SA20, MLC, ILT20 and The Hundred 
• A Season 2 playbook for franchises, sponsors and fans 

For franchise owners, sponsors, investors, broadcasters and supporters, the report brings together the publicly available evidence from Season 1 and sets out NavigatingX's assessment of the commercial opportunities and priorities for Season 2.

• 30 of 32 matches produced a result. Two matches at Voorburg were abandoned due to rain. 
• Four teams finished on 13 points. Net run rate determined the teams that progressed to the knockouts. 
• Two grounds hosted all matches. Sportpark Westvliet in Voorburg, Netherlands, hosted 17 matches, while Malahide Cricket Ground in Ireland hosted 15. No matches were played in Scotland during Season 1. 
• US$1.5 million is the reported annual franchise fee, under 10-year licences. Based on the sources reviewed, this was the clearest publicly reported contracted franchise-level payment identified. 
• About US$3 million a year is our estimate for a typical franchise's reported franchise fee plus estimated squad costs, before other operating expenses. This is a NavigatingX calculation and is not an official franchise cost figure. 
• 18,400 to 36,800 is our estimated cumulative attendance, equivalent to approximately 11–22% of available seats based on the methodology described in this report. No official cumulative attendance figure was identified in the sources reviewed. 
• 74,000 league social followers versus approximately 44,000 across the six teams combined, based on our check on 24 September 2026. 
• At least 30 team sponsors were identified in the materials reviewed. Two shirt-front positions appeared open in the kit imagery reviewed, and we did not identify a publicly announced league title partner in the sources reviewed. 

1. What is the ETPL?

• The European T20 Premier League is an ICC-sanctioned franchise T20 competition involving Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands. Season 1 ran from 26 August to 20 September 2026. 

2. Who won ETPL 2026?

• Edinburgh Castle Rockers won the inaugural season. They defeated Belfast Wolves by seven wickets in the Final at Malahide on 20 September 2026, chasing 151 with eight balls remaining. 

3. Who is behind the ETPL?

• The league is a joint venture involving Rules Global and Cricket Ireland, with Cricket Ireland reported to hold a 20% interest. Abhishek Bachchan is among the league's co-founders, while Warren Deutrom, the former Cricket Ireland chief executive, is ETPL Director. 

4. Which teams play in the ETPL?

• Amsterdam Flames, Belfast Wolves, Dublin Guardians, Edinburgh Castle Rockers, Glasgow Cosmic and Rotterdam Dockers. 

5. Where were ETPL matches played?

• Sportpark Westvliet in Voorburg, Netherlands, hosted matches 1–17, while Malahide Cricket Ground near Dublin, Ireland, hosted matches 18–32. 

6. Who was the ETPL 2026 Player of the Series?

• Faf du Plessis of Rotterdam Dockers. He was also the leading run-scorer, with 449 runs and five fifties in 10 innings. 

7. Where was ETPL Season 1 broadcast?

• The competition was available through JioStar, including Star Sports and JioHotstar, in India; TNT Sports and HBO Max in the UK and Ireland; Willow and Cricbuzz in the US and Canada; and Foxtel and Kayo Sports in Australia, based on the broadcast announcements reviewed. 

8. When is ETPL Season 2?

• Season 2 dates had not been formally announced as of the date of this report. ETPL Director Warren Deutrom has said the league is expected to return in 2027 and that a July window was being considered. 

Edinburgh Castle Rockers, Amsterdam Flames, Belfast Wolves and Rotterdam Dockers each finished the league stage with six wins, three losses and one no-result. Net run rate determined the playoff positions: Edinburgh progressed directly to the Final, while Amsterdam and Belfast entered the Qualifier. Rotterdam were eliminated. Dublin Guardians and Glasgow Cosmic finished on four points each.

Overseas players led several of the headline statistical categories. James Vince scored the season's only century, making 106 not out, and finished with 370 runs. Michael Bracewell and Anrich Nortje took 19 wickets each, while Nortje's 5 for 11 was the best bowling performance recorded during the season.

Local players also made a significant contribution. Players from the participating countries accounted for 35% of the top 20 run-scorers and 50% of the top 20 wicket-takers in our analysis. Brandon McMullen scored 356 runs and Bas de Leede 320, placing them third and fourth respectively among the leading run-scorers. Matthew Humphreys took 15 wickets. The squad rules provide for local players to occupy at least five places in each playing XI.

Sources: ESPNcricinfo; ETPL; NavigatingX analysis.

Based on the ownership information identified in the sources reviewed:

• Edinburgh Castle Rockers (champions): The franchise was operated by the league during Season 1, according to reporting by The Irish Times. The longer-term ownership structure was not clearly established in the public sources reviewed. Captain: Mitchell Santner.
• Belfast Wolves (runners-up): Glenn Maxwell and Rohan Lund of Floodlight Capital. Captain: Glenn Maxwell.
• Amsterdam Flames (lost Qualifier): Steve Waugh, Jamie Dwyer and Tim Thomas. Captain: Scott Edwards.
• Rotterdam Dockers: Faf du Plessis, Jonty Rhodes, Heinrich Klaasen and John Abraham. Captain: Faf du Plessis.
• Dublin Guardians: An Indian consortium including Rahul Dravid, who is associated with the ownership group. Captain: R. Ashwin.
• Glasgow Cosmic: Mugafi Group, led by Vipul Agrawal, alongside Tansha Batra and Matthew Hayden, who also serves as coach. Captain: George Munsey.

Ownership structures and individual roles are based on publicly reported information and may change over time. Where the public record does not clearly establish a particular ownership or management role, this report does not attempt to infer one.

Sources: ETPL; ESPNcricinfo; The Irish Times; SportBusiness; BBC Sport; Cricket World.

Crowds. We estimate 15,000 to 30,000 spectators at Malahide and 3,400 to 6,800 at Voorburg across the season. This is a directional NavigatingX estimate based on available match footage, venue capacity and published observations, rather than an official attendance figure. Free entry was reported for some matches at Malahide.

Broadcast. ETPL broadcast distribution reached multiple international markets, including the Caribbean and South Africa. We did not identify a Dutch broadcaster in the league's 10 July announcement, despite the presence of two Dutch franchises. Of the 32 matches, 21 started at 18:45 India time and 14 were scheduled on weekends.

Search and social. Google search interest peaked around opening day and was approximately 80% lower by the Final. Search interest came primarily from India, the UK and Australia in the Google Trends data reviewed. Google Trends measures relative search interest rather than audience or viewership. Approximately 80% of franchise followers were on Instagram, while the largest individual team account had approximately 13,000 followers.

Sources: ETPL broadcast announcement, 10 July 2026; Google Trends, retrieved 25 September 2026; team social accounts; NavigatingX analysis.

We identified at least 30 team sponsors across 18 categories in the materials reviewed. Rotterdam Dockers had the most identified sponsors, with eight, followed by Glasgow Cosmic with six, Belfast Wolves and Dublin Guardians with five each, Amsterdam Flames with four and Edinburgh Castle Rockers with two.

Of the 30 kit positions reviewed, 20 were occupied and seven appeared open based on the imagery available to us. Rotterdam and Dublin did not display a sponsor in the front-centre shirt position in the materials reviewed. Glasgow was the only team for which all five reviewed positions appeared occupied.

We did not identify telecom, banking, automotive or insurance brands among the sponsors included in our review. These observations relate to publicly visible sponsorship inventory and should not be interpreted as a complete record of all commercial agreements.

Sources: official kit imagery, team websites and LinkedIn pages, reviewed 24 September and 1 October 2026; NavigatingX analysis.

The public information reviewed does not provide sufficient financial disclosure to determine whether Season 1 was profitable. Full league and franchise financial statements were not identified in the sources reviewed.

Our analysis indicates:

• League revenue: Five franchises at a reported US$1.5 million annual franchise fee would imply approximately US$7.5 million in annual franchise-fee revenue, based on the reported terms. Edinburgh's Season 1 league-operated structure means we have not treated it as paying the same fee.
• Media rights: We did not identify a publicly reported broadcast-rights fee in the sources reviewed. BBC Sport reported that the league contributed towards production costs.
• Franchise costs: A reported US$1.5 million franchise fee plus our estimated US$1.5 million in player salaries produces an illustrative commitment of approximately US$3 million before other operating expenses. This is a NavigatingX estimate, not an official franchise cost figure.
• Funding: SportBusiness reported in May 2026 that the league was targeting US$20 million in funding and had US$5.5 million committed at that point.
• Path to profitability: A co-founder had previously indicated a target of reaching profitability around year three, while Warren Deutrom subsequently indicated that profitability could be four to five years away.

These figures are intended to illustrate the economics of the model using publicly reported information and NavigatingX assumptions. They should not be interpreted as audited league or franchise accounts.

Sources: The Irish Times; SportBusiness; BBC Sport; NavigatingX analysis.

ETPL staged 32 matches in its inaugural season, broadly comparable with SA20's 33 matches and ILT20's 34 matches in 2023, and above Major League Cricket's 19-match inaugural season.

The more notable difference was the venue model. ETPL used two grounds for six franchises, averaging 16 matches per ground. By comparison, SA20 and The Hundred provided teams with dedicated home venues from their inaugural seasons.

This comparison is directional: league formats, numbers of teams, scheduling models and venue arrangements differ across competitions.

Sources: ESPNcricinfo; Wisden; Major League Cricket; NavigatingX analysis.

1. The window. A July 2027 slot between Major League Cricket and The Hundred could influence player availability and the league's international positioning.
2. More than two grounds. Adding a fixture in Scotland or introducing more meaningful home-market fixtures would demonstrate progress towards a more geographically distributed competition.
3. A sustainable media-rights model. Securing a commercially meaningful rights agreement could help shift broadcasting from a distribution cost towards a direct revenue stream.
4. A league-level commercial partner. We did not identify a publicly announced league title partner in the sources reviewed, while some visible team sponsorship inventory also remained available.
5. Edinburgh's ownership. The longer-term ownership structure of the champions will be an important indicator of how the franchise model develops.
6. Published audience numbers. Official attendance, viewing and digital audience figures would give sponsors, investors and other stakeholders a stronger basis for evaluating commercial performance.

This report is an independent public-source analysis prepared by NavigatingX. It was not commissioned, funded, reviewed or endorsed by the ETPL, its franchises, owners, sponsors, broadcasters or governing bodies.

Figures identified as estimates are NavigatingX calculations based on publicly available information and stated assumptions. They are directional estimates and are not official, audited or independently verified results. Where public information was incomplete, we have sought to distinguish reported facts from our own analysis and estimates.

Publicly reported information can change or contain errors. We welcome factual corrections or additional primary-source information. To submit a correction, use the contact us section.

Please credit: NavigatingX, ETPL Season 1 Report, October 2026.

NavigatingX is an independent strategy consulting firm founded in Gurugram, India, in 2024, serving clients across more than 12 countries. For leagues, franchises, sponsors and investors, we provide franchise commercial planning, sponsor valuation and exposure audits, fan and market research, pricing, investor due diligence and season intelligence.

Talk to us about ETPL: raman@navigatingx.com

© 2026 NavX Advisors LLP, trading as NavigatingX