The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday confirmed the qualification pathway for the sport’s historic return to the Olympics at the Los Angeles Games 2028 after a 128-year hiatus.
The men’s and women’s cricket competitions at the LA 2028 will feature six teams each, with Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania all guaranteed representation.
Out of the six spots, five will be decided through a combination of existing ICC events and ICC T20I rankings, according to the existing Future Tour Programme (FTP) structure, shared the apex body on Monday.
Meanwhile, the sixth and final places in both the men’s and women’s competitions will be determined through the inaugural ICC Olympics Qualifier, which is set to be held in 2027 and will feature eight teams.
“Five qualification places in each event will be decided through a combination of existing ICC events and ICC T20I rankings, according to the existing approved and published FTP structure,” said the ICC in a statement.
“The sixth and final places in both the Men’s and Women’s competitions will be determined through the new ICC Olympics Qualifier, which will take place in 2027.”
The ICC further shared that the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 has confirmed Australia, England, India and South Africa have qualified for the respective cricket competition at the Games on the virtue of being the highest-placed eligible finishers from Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania.
As per the recently-unveiled qualification pathway, the United States of America (USA) remain eligible to qualify as the 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 USA men’s and women’s teams fail to meet the criteria, the fifth spots in both events will be granted to the highest-placed non-qualified nation in the respective rankings, with the cut-off dates set at March 1, 2027, and December 31, 2026, respectively.
The apex cricketing body also shared that the West Indies are not eligible to participate in the Olympic Games or to obtain a quota place, as they are a composite ICC member representing multiple Caribbean nations and not recognised 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 Qualifier event will be held to determine which NOC will represent the region at the ICC Qualifier.
