Men’s and women’s T20 tournaments will feature six teams each, marking cricket’s historic return to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles 2028.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has officially approved and published the qualification system for cricket at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games (LA28), paving the way for the sport’s long-awaited return to the Olympic stage after an absence of 128 years.
The announcement, made on Monday, finalizes one of the remaining qualification frameworks for LA28. With the approval of cricket’s qualification pathway, only athletics and football are awaiting confirmation of their qualification systems among the 49 sports and disciplines included in the Games.
The IOC stated that the qualification details for athletics and football are expected to be released in the coming days.
Cricket will be played in the fast-paced T20 format at LA28, with separate men’s and women’s competitions. Each tournament will feature six national teams, with squads consisting of up to 15 players. A total of 28 matches will be contested during the Olympic event, ensuring an action-packed schedule for one of the world’s most popular sports.
The inclusion of cricket in the Los Angeles Olympics represents a historic milestone for the game. The sport last appeared at the Olympic Games in 1900 in Paris, where it featured only a single match between Great Britain and France. Since then, cricket has remained absent from the Olympic program despite its growing global popularity and expanding fan base.
The return of cricket to the Olympics is expected to boost the sport’s international profile further, particularly in emerging markets, while providing elite players with the opportunity to compete for Olympic medals for the first time in the modern era.
In addition to approving cricket’s qualification system, the IOC Executive Board also endorsed revisions to the qualification process for surfing at LA28.
While the overall athlete quota for surfing remains unchanged, the updated system refines the allocation of qualification places across competitions organized by the International Surfing Association (ISA) and the World Surf League (WSL).
The publication of the qualification systems marks another significant step in preparations for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, with participating nations now able to plan their qualification campaigns for cricket and other Olympic sports.
