The expansion from the eight teams who will start next season to 10 had already been announced upon confirmation of the successful sides last month
Yorkshire will gain tier-one status for their women's team in 2026, a month after they initially missed out on immediate entry into the top bracket of the incoming pyramid for women's domestic cricket.
Eight counties were first announced on April 18 as winners of a tender process for the ownership of the existing regional teams.
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Neither Yorkshire nor Glamorgan were among the eight, instead revealed as expansion teams to be added "by 2027" in an ECB press release.
That proved controversial and came as a shock to several counties, with that possibility not trailed beforehand. Glamorgan, who will still enter in 2027, described themselves as "delighted" with the outcome, Yorkshire said they were "surprised and disappointed" to miss out.
Headingley has been basecamp for Northern Diamonds, and several Diamonds players – including Katie Levick and Lauren Winfield-Hill – have spoken of the uncertainty that the last few weeks have brought.
Glamorgan have been assured of a tier-one side in 2027 (Getty Images)
So, in a way, this news – while always possible, given the ECB specified that expansion would take place "by" 2027, further muddies the waters, with the makeup of Yorkshire and Durham's squads for 2025 still up in the air, and now with the added layer of the former entering the top tier after one year in tier two.
The move, subject to Yorkshire meeting a series of conditions around governance, strategy and finance, "has been taken to provide greater certainty about the introduction timeline for the club and the existing women's professional playing group, as they enter contract negotiations for 2025 from 1 June", according to an ECB statement.
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"We talked in April about the strength of the bids brought to the ECB and about the pace with which we all want the game to progress to the next level," said the ECB's director of women's professional game, Beth Barrett-Wild.
"Yorkshire's desire to be part of tier one as soon as possible is clear, and we believe it's the best decision for them, the women's game, and most importantly for the players as they enter a phase of contract negotiation, to provide as much certainty as we can about the introduction timeline for both Yorkshire and Glamorgan."
She added: "As Yorkshire are existing regional hosts they are starting from a different position to Glamorgan, who we think will benefit from having two years between 2025 and 2027 to develop their talent pathway across Wales and experience running a women's senior team in tier two. This extra lead-in time will therefore enable them to establish a solid platform from which to build a competitive tier one team and proposition in due course."
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