Olympic Games cricket qualification pathway confirmed for LA28

By Arjun Nair / 29.06.2026

By Arjun Nair — 29 June 2026 — 4 min read

The International Cricket Council (ICC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have officially confirmed the qualification pathway for cricket’s return to the Olympic Games at LA28. This pathway includes the introduction of the first-ever ICC Olympics Qualifier.

Both the men’s and women’s T20 competitions will feature six nations, with all matches scheduled to take place at a purpose-built cricket venue in Pomona. Five qualification spots for each event will be determined through a combination of existing ICC events and ICC T20I rankings. The final qualification spot in both the men’s and women’s competitions will be decided by the newly established ICC Olympics Qualifier, set for 2027.

Women’s Qualification Details

On the women’s side, the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 has already confirmed some participants for LA28. Australia, Great Britain (represented by England), India, and South Africa have qualified as the highest-placed teams from Oceania, Europe, Asia, and Africa, respectively. Australia, currently leading the women’s T20I rankings, secured their spot as the Oceania qualifier, having gone undefeated in the group stage of the T20 World Cup.

The host nation, the USA, is eligible to qualify for both men’s and women’s events, provided they are within the top 15 of the relevant ICC T20I rankings by 31 December 2026. If the USA women’s team does not meet this criterion, a fifth automatic qualification spot will be awarded to the highest-placed non-qualified nation in the ICC T20I rankings from any continent as of 1 March 2027. Currently, New Zealand holds this position as the fourth-ranked team in women’s T20Is.

However, the West Indies, as a composite ICC member not recognised as an IOC National Olympic Committee (NOC), are ineligible to participate directly. Should their women’s team be among the eight highest-ranked teams not yet qualified by 31 December 2026, the ICC will host a dedicated Caribbean Qualifier event to determine which NOC will represent the region at the ICC Olympics Qualifier.

Men’s Qualification Details

For the men’s competition, five of the six nations will be decided based on ICC Men’s T20I rankings. The highest-ranked eligible teams from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania on 31 December 2026 will progress to LA28, provided they are within the top 15 of the rankings. Australia‘s men’s team is well-positioned to claim the Oceania berth, currently holding a lead over New Zealand in the ICC T20I rankings following their 3-0 win in Bangladesh.

Similarly, India is set to claim the Asia berth, and South Africa is in a strong position for the Africa spot. The USA, as the host nation, will claim the Americas spot if they remain within the top 15. If the USA men’s team does not meet the ranking criteria, the fifth automatic qualification spot will be allocated to the next-highest-ranked nation from any continent that has not already qualified by 31 December 2026.

Similar to the women’s side, individual Caribbean nations will compete in their own inter-island tournament, with the winner progressing to an eight-team global qualifying event. This global qualifier is expected to include teams such as New Zealand, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Ireland, and Zimbabwe.

The sixth and final place for both men’s and women’s competitions will be determined at the first ICC Olympics Qualifier 2027, which will feature eight nations in each field. Information regarding the date and host nation for this qualifier is yet to be confirmed.

Tournament Format and Significance

ICC Chairman Jay Shah stated that cricket’s return to the Olympic Games is a significant moment for the sport, offering a powerful opportunity to showcase cricket globally. ICC Chief Executive Sanjog Gupta added that the qualification structure is designed to optimize competitive standards and global representation, leveraging existing ICC elite competition structures and introducing a new qualification event for LA28.

The six teams in the Olympic competition will be divided into groups of three. Each team will play each other once, followed by two further matches against teams in the opposite group that did not finish in the same position. The top two teams will then compete for gold and silver medals, while the third and fourth nations will play for bronze. Qualified nations will be able to select a squad of 15 players.

A total of 28 matches will be played across both the men’s and women’s events, all at the purpose-built cricket venue in Pomona, located about 50km east of downtown Los Angeles.

Source: icc-cricket.com