First run in 2004, two of the most successful teams in the history of the tournament, Ireland and Afghanistan were promoted to Full Member and Test status, in 2017.

In October 2018, the ICC issued a media release asking for an expression of interest from teams who have competed in previous editions of the tournament.

[6] The inaugural ICC Intercontinental Cup was completed on 22 November 2004 when Scotland won the title in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

[9] The tournament was cut from 12 to eight teams, with Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands and Uganda losing the right to participate, while Namibia knocked out Nepal in a play off for the eighth place.

Due to preparations for the 2007 World Cup and the longer tournament, the final was played in May 2007, where Ireland defeated Canada to defend their title.

Namibia topped the pool stage but faced a defeat in the final against Ireland in late October in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

They sealed the title by winning three successive crucial away matches in Africa, defeating Namibia twice and Kenya in between.

[11] Ireland, the Netherlands, Scotland, Canada, Kenya, and Afghanistan played in the top division, joined by Zimbabwe A.

In December 2010, the ICC announced that the 2011–13 tournament would revert to the 8 team, single division format of the 2007–08 season and that the Intercontinental Shield would be scrapped.

The sixth staging of the Cup ran from June 2011 to October 2013. and included the top six associate and affiliate teams with One Day International status (ICC World Cricket League Division 1); Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands and Scotland.

[12] Later the ICC Development Committee decided to select the 3rd and 4th placed teams from the ICC World Cricket League Division 2 (Bermuda and Uganda) and two qualifiers to proceed from WCL Division 3 (Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea) bringing the total to 12 teams.

It ran in parallel with the 2015–17 ICC World Cricket League Championship but with slightly different teams.

The current teams in the Intercontinental Shield are Bermuda, Namibia, Uganda and United Arab Emirates.