The ECC was founded in 1997, replacing the administration heavy European Cricket Federation, and expanded from an initial membership of 14 to having 37 member associations (as of 2006). Nine of the member nations have ICC associate status, a further 17 have affiliate status, and 11 are ICC prospective members. The game continues to grow in popularity, and three ECC members, Scotland, Ireland, and The Netherlands, along with test status England, competed in the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup and the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup. Ireland became the 11th Test nation in the world &amp; 2nd in Europe on 22 June 2017.