Strive Wins ICC Global Hackathon, $5,000 Prize
Strive's three-person team took top honors in the 2026 ICC Global Hackathon, powered by Ignyte, against more than 8,500 global participants.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in eSports
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Strive won the ICC Global Hackathon and a USD$5,000 prize, with its winning team showcased at the Dubai AI Festival Startup Stage. The competition, powered by Ignyte, ran throughout 2026 and drew students, startups and scale-ups from across the globe.
Why it matters
The hackathon was designed to open cricket to new perspectives and new communities of innovators. Strive's winning proposal centered on a public-first architecture aimed at eliminating visibility gaps in women's sport.
The ICC Global Hackathon drew more than 8,500 global participants, with entries split across three problem statements: Sport Visibility & Engagement, Next-Gen Fan Experiences, and Athlete Health, Performance & Inclusivity. The stub does not indicate how many teams reached the final round.
The players
Strive
Strive is the team whose web platform aims to boost athlete monetisation and discovery, and it was named overall winner of the ICC Global Hackathon.
International Cricket Council (ICC)
The ICC is the global governing body for cricket, which ran the Global Hackathon to reimagine the future of sport.
The details
Strive's web platform is designed to increase athlete monetisation and discovery. Every applicant was required to include at least one female member, and the ICC judging panel was split 50-50 between male and female representatives.
Timeline
The ICC Global Hackathon ran throughout 2026.
Strive was crowned winner on November 4, 2026, at the Dubai AI Festival.
Season Trajectory
The ICC Global Hackathon's requirement that every applicant include at least one female member, combined with a 50-50 judging panel, sets a structural inclusion benchmark for cricket's innovation pipeline. Strive's win extends that benchmark into the commercial question of how women's sport gains visibility and revenue.
Strive's win puts a women's-sport visibility platform on the table as a live proposal rather than a concept. Fans and athletes tracking women's cricket content will be watching whether the platform moves toward launch.
The takeaway
Competitions that require gender-balanced teams and judges can shape which ideas reach the top, and that structure is worth watching across sports innovation. Readers following women's sport should track whether winning proposals like Strive's move from prize to product.
Further reading
Explore more coverage in the eSports section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by ICC.
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