Jamaica Empress Confirmed as Fourth Side in WCPL

The Women’s Caribbean Premier League will expand from 3 to 4 teams for the 2026 season. Jamaica Empress is the new franchise, joining Barbados Royals, Guyana Amazon Warriors, and Trinbago Knight Riders.

WCPL 2026 will be played from September 5 to 17, with all matches taking place in Barbados. Each team will face the other three teams once in the round-robin stage. The team that tops the table will move directly to the final, where they will meet the winner of a playoff between the teams ranked second and third.

Defending champions Barbados Royals will be looking to win their fourth title in a row, after sweeping up a hat-trick of triumphs in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Trinbago Knight Riders won the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2022.

Dates & Venue: Sept 5-17, 2026, all matches at Kensington Oval, Barbados. 10-day standalone festival format. Format: Round-robin with each team playing the other 3 once. Top team goes straight to the final. 2nd and 3rd play a playoff on Sept 16, winner faces 1st in the final on Sept 17.Defending champs: Barbados Royals, chasing a 4th straight title after wins in 2023, 2024, 2025.

A WCPL release suggested that the expansion from three teams to four could be followed by bigger developments in the future. "Looking ahead to 2027, the WCPL is preparing to take the next step in its evolution, with plans to welcome teams from outside the Caribbean and establish the tournament as a truly global competition."

First expansion since the WCPL launched. Adds representation from Jamaica, giving all 4 major Caribbean cricket territories a team. WCPL says the move aims to grow the women’s game, with plans to welcome international teams in 2027 and become a “truly global competition”.

Matches

September 5 Barbados Tridents vs Trinbago Knight Riders
September 6 Jamaica Empress vs Guyana Amazon Warriors
September 10 Trinbago Knight Riders vs Jamaica Empress
September 12 Trinbago Knight Riders vs Guyana Amazon Warriors
September 12 Barbados Tridents vs Jamaica Empress
September 13 Guyana Amazon Warriors vs Barbados Tridents
September 16 Playoff - 2nd vs 3rd
September 17 Final