The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that the men’s and women’s qualifying events for cricket at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics will be staged in January and February 2028. The governing body has also revised the qualification rules that apply to the United States women’s side.
The qualifiers were originally planned for 2027 but have now been pushed back to early 2028, less than six months before the sport returns to the Olympic programme.
Cricket’s long-awaited return to the Olympic Games
Cricket will feature at the Los Angeles Games for the first time in 128 years. The sport last appeared at the Olympics during the Paris Games in 1900.
Direct entry based on rankings and tournament results
Under the ICC’s qualification framework, several teams will earn direct entry into the Olympic competitions through their performances in international events and the ICC T20I rankings. In the women’s event, Australia, India, South Africa and Great Britain have already qualified as the top-ranked eligible sides from their continents, based on results at the Women’s T20 World Cup earlier this year.
The men’s places will be decided by the ICC T20I rankings as they stood on December 31, 2026. The highest-ranked eligible teams from Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania will automatically qualify for the men’s Olympic tournament.
USA host-nation places and a revised women’s allocation
As hosts, the United States are also eligible for direct entry into both competitions, provided they meet the ICC’s ranking requirements. Under regulations announced in June, the US men’s and women’s teams must have been among the top 15 in their respective ICC T20I rankings at some point between June 30 and December 31, 2026.
The US men, currently 13th, are well placed to meet that requirement. The women, ranked 19th, face a tougher task, leaving their automatic qualification uncertain.
The ICC has also changed how the host place in the women’s event is allocated if the United States fall short. Previously, the spot would have gone to the highest-ranked team yet to qualify, based on the ICC Women’s T20I rankings on March 1, 2027. Under the updated rules, it will instead be decided by the standings at the inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy, scheduled for India in February 2027. That tournament could therefore determine who takes the Olympic berth if the US women miss the December 31 deadline.
Eight-team fields and venues yet to be named
Both qualifying tournaments will feature eight teams each. The line-up will consist of the seven highest-ranked eligible teams outside the automatic qualifiers, along with the winner of the Caribbean regional qualifying competition.
The ICC has not yet announced venues for either tournament, and further details are expected in due course.
