First three franchises of European T20 Premier League announced, Steve Waugh and Maxwell become team owners

European T20 Premier League : The European T20 Premier League (ETPL), Europe’s first T20 league officially sanctioned by the ICC, has announced the owners of its first three franchises. The announcement was made at an international press conference in Sydney against the backdrop of the Opera House and Harbor Bridge, with Amsterdam, Edinburgh and Belfast confirmed as the league’s first franchise cities starting in late summer 2026.

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The owners of the Amsterdam franchise include Australian legend Steve Waugh, Olympic gold medalist Jamie Dwyer and former KPMG Australia partner Tim Thomas. Waugh described the occasion as a return to the game in a new role, and emphasized long-term thinking and development of cricket in Europe. Former New Zealand internationals Nathan McCullum and Kyle Mills will be the owners of the Edinburgh franchise, with Mills citing the league’s governance and structure as its main strengths.

Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has teamed up with former NRMA Group CEO Rohan Lund to purchase the Belfast franchise. Maxwell said the franchise would be built on a culture of freedom and fun, while also accelerating the growth of cricket in Ireland. Let us tell you that the European T20 Premier League (ETPL) is owned by a joint venture between Rules Global and Cricket Ireland, and has been started by Abhishek Bachchan, Saurav Banerjee, Priyanka Kaul and Dheeraj Malhotra, with the support of Cricket Scotland and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association.

With European cricket gaining momentum ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, the ETPL aims to combine elite international experience with emerging European talent, and position itself as a key driver of the game’s next phase of growth.