New Delhi, June 29 (IANS) Cricket’s return to the Olympic Games after a gap of 128 years took a significant step forward on Monday after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved the qualification system for the men’s and women’s competitions at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics (LA28), outlining distinct qualification pathways for the two events.

The approval confirms that six teams each will compete in the men’s and women’s T20 tournaments at LA28, with each squad comprising a maximum of 15 players. A total of 180 athletes — 90 men and 90 women — will feature in cricket’s first Olympic appearance since the 1900 Paris Games, where the sport was contested only once.

The qualification system, published jointly by the IOC and the International Cricket Council (ICC), reveals that while both competitions will feature six teams, the qualification routes differ considerably between the men’s and women’s events.

For the men’s competition, four teams will qualify directly through the ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings. However, qualification will not simply be determined by the top four-ranked sides. Instead, the four highest-ranked eligible National Olympic Committees (NOCs) from four different continents at the close of the qualification window on December 31, 2026, will secure direct Olympic berths, ensuring continental representation in the six-team field.

The United States, as hosts of the Los Angeles Games, have been guaranteed a place, provided they satisfy the ICC’s minimum eligibility requirement of appearing within the top 15 of the ICC Men’s T20I rankings at some point during the qualification period.

The sixth and final men’s berth will be decided through a Final Olympic Global Qualification Tournament (FOGQT), where the next eight highest-ranked eligible teams that have not already qualified will compete for the remaining Olympic place.

The women’s qualification system follows a different model.

Instead of ICC rankings deciding the four direct qualifiers, the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup will serve as the primary qualifying event. The highest-placed eligible teams from four different continents at the conclusion of the tournament will earn direct qualification for LA28.

Like the men’s event, hosts USA will receive an automatic berth subject to fulfilling the minimum ranking requirement of being ranked within the top 15 during the qualification period. The final women’s Olympic spot will also be determined through a Final Olympic Global Qualification Tournament featuring the next eight highest-ranked eligible teams that have not already qualified.

One notable aspect of the qualification system concerns the West Indies.

While the Caribbean side competes as a combined team in ICC events, it is not recognised as a National Olympic Committee by the IOC and therefore cannot compete at the Olympic Games as a single entity. If West Indies finish among the teams eligible for the Final Olympic Global Qualification Tournament, the ICC will organise a regional qualifying tournament among the constituent Caribbean nations to determine which Olympic-recognised nation advances to the global qualifier.

The qualification document also clarifies that only rankings of Olympic-recognised National Olympic Committees will be considered for qualification purposes. It further notes that, in the case of Great Britain, England alone will represent the British Olympic contingent in cricket qualification.

According to the qualification timeline, the women’s qualification process effectively begins with the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, scheduled from June 12 to July 6, 2026. The men’s qualification rankings will close on December 31, 2026, while the women’s rankings used for allocating places in the global qualifier will conclude on March 1, 2027. Dates for both men’s and women’s Final Olympic Global Qualification Tournaments are yet to be announced.

The IOC said the publication of the cricket qualification system follows the approval of qualification systems across 49 sports and disciplines for LA28. Athletics and football remain the only sports whose qualification systems are yet to be finalised.

Cricket was officially added to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic programme in October 2023 alongside baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse (sixes) and squash. The T20 format was subsequently confirmed for both the men’s and women’s competitions.

–IANS

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