The number of teams qualifying to the World Cup from the Qualifier has varied based on the tournament model. Ireland and the Netherlands have each won the Qualifier on three occasions. Ireland has the unique distinction of appearing in every tournament, and qualifying for the T20 World Cup from every tournament; as of 2022, Ireland has qualified to the World Cup from the Qualifier on a record seven occasions, while the Netherlands and Afghanistan have qualified four times, Scotland three times, and Hong Kong and Oman twice. Ireland, the Netherlands and Canada are the only teams who have participated in every edition of the Qualifier.
The first ever Twenty20 World Cup Qualifier was played as qualification for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and took place between 2 August and 5 August 2008 in Stormont, Belfast in Northern Ireland. The top three[1] going through to the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, the international championship of Twenty20 cricket. The six competing teams were:
The competition was won by Ireland and the Netherlands, who shared the trophy after rain forced the final to be abandoned without a ball bowled. Both teams qualified for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 finals in England. After the withdrawal of Zimbabwe from the competition, the two finalists were joined by third-placed Scotland.
Afghanistan defeated Ireland in the final to win the championship, and both teams progressed to play in the 2010 ICC World Twenty20, the international championship of Twenty20 cricket in the West Indies.
The 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier was played in early 2012. It was an expanded version comprising ten qualifiers from regional Twenty20 tournaments in addition to the six ODI/Twenty20 status countries. A total of 81 countries competed for the ten spots available in the 2012 World Twenty20 Qualifier. The sixteen teams which contested the final qualifying competition were:
The 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier was played in November 2013. It continued to use a 16-team format, with ten qualifiers from regional Twenty20 tournaments plus the top six finishers of the previous competition. Ireland and Afghanistan (by finishing top of their groups), with Nepal and UAE (by winning first runners up knock out matches) and the Netherlands and Hong Kong (5th and 6th place) qualified for the 2014 ICC World Twenty20. The competing countries were:
The top six teams: Ireland, Afghanistan, Netherlands and making their World Twenty20 debut the UAE, Nepal and Hong Kong progressed to the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 tournament.
The 2015 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier was played in July 2015 and co-hosted by two countries for the first time, Ireland and Scotland. Both the final and the third-place playoff were abandoned due to rain; Scotland and the Netherlands shared the title, while Ireland were ranked third over Hong Kong due to a superior performance in the group stage. The number of teams at the tournament was reduced to 14, with the African Cricket Association and ICC Americas regional bodies each losing a spot and the ACC gaining one from the European Cricket Council:
The top six teams Ireland, Scotland, Netherlands, Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Oman who made their debut in the tournament all progressed to the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 tournament.