The International Cricket Council (ICC) has officially confirmed that Bangladesh and the United States will host the final qualification tournaments for cricket’s historic return to the Olympic Games at Los Angeles 2028 (LA28). Announced on Sunday, November 15, following the ICC Board meetings in Bali, Indonesia, the decision establishes the dates, host nations, and competitive structure for the final gateway to the Olympic podium.
Set to be played in February and March 2028, just four months before the opening ceremony in California, the two eight-team global qualifiers will award the sixth and final quota spots in both the men’s and women’s Twenty20 competitions.
While Men's Qualifier in the USA from February 5–13 and the Women's Qualifier in USA from February 26–March 5.
The ICC ratified a tight, high-stakes window in early 2028 to conclude the Olympic qualification pathway, splitting hosting responsibilities between South Asia and North America:
| Event | Host Nation | Official Window | Teams | Quota Berths |
| LA28 Men's Olympic Qualifier | Bangladesh | February 5 – 13, 2028 | 8 | 1 (Final Spot) |
| LA28 Women's Olympic Qualifier | United States | February 26 – March 5, 2028 | 8 | 1 (Final Spot) |
"Host nations and dates have been confirmed for the final qualification events for the Olympic Games at LA28. The events constitute the final stage of the qualification pathway for cricket's return to the Olympic programme at LA28," the ICC stated in its official release.
With only a single Olympic berth available in each tournament, the ICC has opted for an unforgiving, high-intensity format designed to reward immediate consistency:
Group Stage (12 Matches): Eight competing nations will be divided into two groups of four. Each side will play the other three teams in its group once in a single round-robin format.
No Semi-Finals: Unlike traditional ICC events where the top two from each pool advance to a semi-final stage, only the two group winners will progress out of the initial phase. A single slip-up in the three group matches could effectively eliminate a contender before the knockout stage.
Winner-Takes-All Final (1 Match): The winners of Group A and Group B will meet directly in the summit clash. The victor of that 13th match claims the final ticket to Los Angeles, while the runner-up goes home empty-handed.
The broader LA28 qualification picture
Cricket returns to the Summer Olympics in 2028 after a 128-year absence, having previously made its sole appearance at the 1900 Paris Games, where Great Britain defeated France in a two-day match. Because the International Olympic Committee (IOC) capped the LA28 cricket tournament at six teams per gender, securing a place in Los Angeles is substantially more difficult than qualifying for an ICC T20 World Cup.
How the Six Spots Are Allocated
Regional/Ranking Qualifiers (4 Spots): Four direct berths per gender are awarded to the highest-ranked nations from Asia, Europe, Oceania, and Africa.
Women's Direct Qualifiers: Following the conclusion of the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, India (Asia), Great Britain (Europe), Australia (Oceania), and South Africa (Africa) have already locked in their places for LA28.
Men's Direct Qualifiers: The four regional spots for the men's tournament are determined by the ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings at the close of the qualification cutoff on December 31, 2026.
Global Olympic Qualifier (1 Spot): The sixth and final berth in each draw is reserved for the winner of the February–March 2028 qualifiers in Bangladesh and the USA, contested by the top eight highest-ranked teams not already qualified (with regional play-offs determining representation if Caribbean nations eligible via the West Indies finish inside the qualifying bracket).
Awarding the final Olympic qualifiers to Bangladesh and the United States carries major sporting and commercial significance for both nations:
Staging a high-stakes Olympic qualifier in the United States just months before the Games provides a vital operational dress rehearsal for North American cricket infrastructure. The Olympic matches themselves will be held from July 12 to 29, 2028, at a purpose-built temporary venue at the Fairplex in Pomona, California (roughly 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles). Hosting a winner-takes-all qualifier in the US helps build domestic media interest and fan engagement ahead of cricket’s Olympic debut in Southern California.
Bangladesh offers passionate, packed stadiums and spin-friendly pitches that will severely test visiting teams accustomed to batting-friendly tracks. For Bangladesh’s national sides—if they miss out on direct regional qualification behind Asian powerhouses like India—playing the final qualifier on home soil provides a massive tactical advantage in their bid to become Olympians.
Part of a Landmark 2028–2035 Global Roadmap
The confirmation of the LA28 qualifiers formed part of a sweeping set of decisions taken by the ICC Board in Bali. Alongside finalizing the Olympic pathway, the governing body approved the complete men’s events calendar through 2035—naming India as sole hosts for the 2029 Champions Trophy and co-hosts with Bangladesh for the 2031 ODI World Cup—and ratified qualification structures for the 2027 Men's Cricket World Cup and the 2028 Men's and Women's T20 World Cups.
Commenting on the long-term calendar announcements, ICC Chief Executive Sanjog Gupta highlighted the importance of giving players and member boards clear, structured pathways across formats and global multi-sport events:
"The ICC events portfolio and schedule are critical components of cricket's global architecture and deliver elevated context, competitiveness and consequence to the ecosystem. We also recognise the importance of providing athletes and member associations long-term visibility of these events to enable development of improved player pathways, focused high-performance programmes and structured calendars."
With dates, venues, and formats now locked in, national cricket boards and Olympic committees have a clear 15-month runway toward February 2028, when 16 nations across the men’s and women’s draws will battle for the last two golden tickets to Los Angeles.