How cricket teams will qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics: ICC reveals pathway
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How cricket teams will qualify for the LA28 Olympics ICC reveals pathway Photograph: (Others)
The ICC and IOC have officially confirmed the T20 cricket qualification pathway for the LA28 Olympic Games. Find out how teams will qualify through rankings and the new 2027 ICC Olympic Qualifier tournament.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have confirmed the qualification pathway for cricket’s much-awaited return to the Summer Games for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. With men’s and women’s cricket set to feature at LA28, a new ICC Olympic Qualifier tournament will determine the final six teams in both events for the T20 competitions.
While the existing ICC events and T20I rankings will determine the five qualification spots for both competitions, a new eight-team ICC Olympics Qualifier in 2027 will decide the fate of the sixth and final team in both events.
In a boost to the women’s T20 competition, the ongoing World Cup in England has already produced the first four qualified teams – Australia, Great Britain (through England), India and South Africa. All these teams have secured qualification as the highest-placed eligible teams from Oceania, Europe, Asia and Africa, respectively, with qualification limited to one team per continent.
Meanwhile, the hosts, the US, will automatically qualify as the fifth team for both the men’s and women’s T20 events, provided they feature in the top 15 of the respective ICC T20I rankings at any point between June 30 and December 31, 2026.
However, should the US women’s cricket team fail to meet the criteria, the automatic berth will go to the highest-ranked, non-qualified team in the ICC Women’s rankings as of March 1, 2027. For the men’s event, that place would instead be allocated to the next highest-ranked eligible side which hasn’t qualified by the end of this year.
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The remaining automatic qualification places in the men’s competitions will be awarded to the highest-ranked teams eligible from Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania in the ICC Men’s T20I rankings by December 31, 2026.
The 2027 ICC Olympics Qualifier
The next year’s ICC Olympic Qualifier will feature eight teams in both the men’s and women’s T20 events. Seven places will be occupied by the next highest-ranked eligible teams in the respective ICC T20I rankings, barring those who have already qualified, with the winner punching its ticket for the Summer Games.
Interestingly, there would be a separate qualification route for the Caribbean. As the West Indies represents several independent sovereign nations and is not recognised as an IOC National Olympic Committee, it cannot compete under that name at the Olympics. But should they finish (in both men’s and women’s divisions) among the top eight highest-ranked non-qualifying teams by the deadline date, a Caribbean Qualification tournament will decide which National Olympic Committee will represent the region at the ICC Olympics Qualifier.
Moreover, each qualified country will name a 15-player squad. The six teams in each event will be split into two groups of three, with one team playing the remaining two sides in that group before taking on two teams from the opposite group that finished in different positions. The top two teams will then contest the gold medal match, while the third- and fourth-placed sides will play for bronze.
A total of 28 matches will be played across both events at a purpose-built cricket stadium in Pomona. The ICC said that the details regarding the dates and host of the 2027 ICC Olympics Qualifiers will be announced later.
