DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday confirmed the schedule for cricket’s long-awaited return to the Olympic Games, with the men’s and women’s T20 tournaments set to take place from July 12 to 29, 2028 at the Los Angeles Olympics (LA28).
This development comes 128 years after cricket’s sole appearance at the Olympic Games in Paris in 1900, where Great Britain defeated France in a one-off match to win gold.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved cricket’s inclusion in the 2028 Games last year, and in April this year, greenlit a six-team T20 format for both men’s and women’s events.
According to the ICC, each tournament will feature six teams comprising 15 players each, in line with the athlete quota of 90 per gender.
The matches will be played at the Pomona Fairplex, a venue located roughly 50 kilometres from downtown Los Angeles.
The women’s gold medal match has been scheduled for July 20, while the men’s final will conclude the cricket tournament on July 29.
Most matchdays will feature double-headers, with fixtures starting at 9:00 AM and 6:30 PM local time.
The ICC outlined a modified competition structure for the event. During the group stage, teams will face two sides from the opposite group – excluding the team that finishes in the same position in the other pool.
For example, the winner of Group A will play the second and third-placed teams in Group B, and vice versa.
Overall standings from all group matches will determine the top four teams.
The two highest-placed teams will compete for the gold medal, while the third and fourth-placed teams will contest the bronze medal match.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the ICC described cricket’s reintroduction to the Olympic programme as a “major milestone” that will help extend the sport’s global reach.
The governing body emphasised that Olympic exposure offers significant opportunities for growth in emerging markets.
However, key aspects such as the qualification process remain unresolved. The ICC noted that discussions will be held at its Annual Conference in Singapore, beginning July 17.
It is widely anticipated that the ICC T20 International rankings at a specific cut-off date will be used to determine qualification.
One critical point yet to be clarified is whether the United States, as the host nation, will receive automatic qualification.
If granted, this could reduce the number of available spots for other cricketing nations to five.
Meanwhile, the LA28 Organising Committee confirmed that the full medal schedule, including the order of men’s and women’s events, will be released later this year.
In a statement, LA28 said, “The gender sequence for events in the 2028 Games is not yet available. As stated in today’s release, a more detailed schedule with medal events and gender order will be released later this year.”
