DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed that the men’s and women’s qualifying tournaments for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics will take place in January and February 2028, while introducing changes to the qualification criteria for the United States women’s team.
The qualifying events were originally scheduled for 2027 but have now been pushed back to early 2028, less than six months before cricket makes its long-awaited return to the Olympic Games.
Cricket will feature at the Los Angeles Olympics for the first time in 128 years, having last appeared at the Games in Paris in 1900.
According to the ICC’s qualification framework, several teams will secure direct entry into the Olympic cricket competitions based on their performances in international tournaments and the ICC T20I rankings.
In the women’s competition, Australia, India, South Africa and Great Britain have already qualified as the highest-ranked eligible teams from their respective continents, based on performances at the Women’s T20 World Cup earlier this year.
Meanwhile, the men’s qualification process will be determined by the ICC T20I rankings as of December 31, 2026.
The highest-ranked eligible teams from Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania will secure automatic qualification for the men’s Olympic tournament.
As the host nation, the United States are also eligible for direct entry into both the men’s and women’s competitions, subject to meeting the ICC’s ranking requirements.
Under the regulations announced in June, the USA men’s and women’s teams must have featured among the top 15 in their respective ICC T20I rankings at some point between June 30 and December 31, 2026.
The USA men’s team, currently occupying 13th position, are well placed to meet the qualification requirement. However, the women’s team face a more challenging situation, with their current ranking of 19th leaving their automatic qualification uncertain.
In a significant change, the ICC has revised the process for allocating the host nation’s place in the women’s competition if the United States fail to meet the required ranking criteria.
Previously, the vacant position would have been awarded to the highest-ranked team yet to qualify, based on the ICC Women’s T20I rankings on March 1, 2027.
However, under the updated regulations, the qualification place will instead be determined by the standings at the inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy, scheduled to be held in India in February 2027.
The change means the tournament could play a decisive role in determining which team secures an Olympic berth if the USA women fail to meet the December 31 ranking deadline.
Meanwhile, the ICC has confirmed that both the men’s and women’s Olympic qualifying tournaments will feature eight teams each.
The participating sides will include the seven highest-ranked eligible teams outside the automatic qualifiers, along with the winner of the Caribbean regional qualifying competition.
The venues for the two qualifying tournaments have yet to be announced, with further details expected from the ICC in due course.