DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have officially confirmed the qualification pathway for cricket’s long-awaited return to the Olympic Games at Los Angeles 2028.
Cricket will feature at the Olympics for the first time in 128 years, with six teams competing in both the men’s and women’s T20 tournaments. All matches will be played at a purpose-built cricket venue in Pomona, California.
Under the qualification system announced on Tuesday, five of the six places in each competition will be decided through existing ICC events and ICC T20I rankings, while the remaining spot will be determined through the inaugural ICC Olympics Qualifier, scheduled to be held in 2027.
The ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 has already confirmed the first four teams for the women’s competition. Australia, Great Britain (through England), India and South Africa have secured qualification as the highest-ranked teams from Oceania, Europe, Asia and Africa, respectively.
For the men’s event, automatic qualification will be awarded to the highest-ranked eligible teams from Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania in the ICC Men’s T20I rankings as of December 31, 2026, provided they are inside the top 15.
Hosts United States will also be eligible to qualify automatically in both the men’s and women’s events, but only if they are ranked inside the top 15 of the respective ICC T20I rankings by the qualification cut-off date.
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If the USA fail to meet that requirement, the automatic qualification berth will instead go to the next highest-ranked eligible nation that has not already secured its place.
The final qualification spot in both tournaments will be decided through the newly introduced ICC Olympics Qualifier in 2027.
The Los Angeles Olympics will feature eight cricket teams in both the men’s and women’s competitions, with seven places filled by the next highest-ranked nations in the ICC T20I rankings that have not already qualified. The ICC is yet to announce the host nation and dates for the tournament.
The Olympic competition itself will follow a unique format. The six qualified teams will be divided into two groups of three, with each side playing the other teams in its group before facing two opponents from the opposite group that finished in different positions.
The top two teams at the end of the stage will contest the gold medal match, while the third and fourth-placed teams will battle for bronze.
Each participating nation will be allowed to name a squad of 15 players for cricket’s historic return to the Olympic Games after more than a century.
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