The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday confirmed the qualification route for the sport’s historic return to the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 after a 128-year hiatus.
The LA 2028 men’s and women’s cricket competitions will each feature six teams, with guaranteed representation from Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania.
Of the six places, five will be decided through a combination of existing ICC events and ICC T20I rankings, as per the existing Future Tour Program (FTP) structure, the apex body shared on Monday.
Meanwhile, the sixth and final places in the men’s and women’s competitions will be determined at the inaugural ICC Olympic Qualifier, which is scheduled to be held in 2027 and will feature eight teams.
“Five qualifying places in each event will be decided through a combination of existing ICC events and the ICC T20I rankings, as per the existing approved and published FTP structure,” the ICC said in a statement.
“The sixth and final places in the men’s and women’s competitions will be determined at the new ICC Olympic Qualifiers, which will take place in 2027.”
The ICC further informed that the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 has confirmed that Australia, England, India and South Africa have qualified for the respective cricket competition at the Games as they are the highest ranked from Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania.
As per the recently revealed qualification pathway, the United States of America remains eligible to qualify as host nation for both the men’s and women’s events, but subject to appearing in the top 15 of the relevant ICC T20I Rankings at any time during the qualification period from June 30, 2026 to December 31, 2026.
However, if the United States men’s and women’s teams do not meet the criteria, fifth places in both events will be awarded to the highest-ranked non-qualified nation in the respective rankings, with deadlines set for March 1, 2027 and December 31, 2026, respectively.
Cricket’s peak body also declared that the West Indies are not eligible to participate in the Olympics or secure a quota place as they are a composite member of the ICC representing several Caribbean nations and are not recognized as an IOC National Olympic Committee (NOC).
However, if their men’s and women’s teams are among the eight highest-ranked teams not yet qualified by December 31, 2026, a dedicated Caribbean qualifying event will be held to determine which NOC will represent the region in the ICC qualifiers.
