ICC confirms qualification pathway for cricket’s LA28 Olympic return

CRICBUZZ - The ICC and the IOC have confirmed the qualification pathway for cricket's return to the Olympic Games at Los Angeles 2028, with a new ICC Olympics Qualifier set to determine the final places in both the men's and women's T20 competitions.

Six teams will compete in each event at LA28. Five qualification spots will be decided through existing ICC events and T20I rankings, while the sixth and final berth will be awarded through the inaugural eight-team ICC Olympics Qualifier in 2027.

The ongoing ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 has already produced the first four qualified teams for the women's competition. Australia, Great Britain (through England), India and South Africa secured qualification as the highest-placed eligible finishers from Oceania, Europe, Asia and Africa respectively, with qualification limited to one team per continent.

Hosts USA will qualify automatically for both the men's and women's events provided they feature in the top-15 of the respective ICC T20I rankings at any point between June 30 and December 31, 2026. If the USA women fail to meet that criterion, the additional automatic berth will go to the highest-ranked non-qualified team in the ICC Women's T20I rankings as of March 1, 2027. For the men's event, the place would instead be allocated to the next highest-ranked eligible team not already qualified by December 31, 2026.

The remaining automatic qualification places in the men's competition will be awarded to the highest-ranked eligible teams from Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania in the ICC Men's T20I rankings on December 31, 2026.

The 2027 ICC Olympics Qualifier will feature eight teams in both the men's and women's competitions. Seven places will be filled by the next highest-ranked eligible teams in the respective ICC T20I rankings, excluding those that have already qualified for LA28, with the winner claiming the final Olympic berth.

The ICC also outlined a separate qualification route for the Caribbean. As the West Indies represents multiple sovereign nations and is not recognised as an IOC National Olympic Committee, it cannot compete at the Olympic Games. However, if the West Indies men's or women's team finishes among the top eight highest-ranked non-qualified teams by December 31, 2026, a Caribbean qualifying tournament will determine which National Olympic Committee will represent the region at the ICC Olympics Qualifier.

Each qualified nation will name a 15-player squad. The six teams in each event will be split into two groups of three, with teams playing the other sides in their group before taking on two teams from the opposite group that finished in different positions. The top two teams will contest the gold medal match, while the third- and fourth-placed teams will play for bronze.

A total of 28 matches will be played across the men's and women's tournaments at a purpose-built cricket venue in Pomona. The ICC said details regarding the dates and host of the 2027 ICC Olympics Qualifier will be announced later.