The City of Pomona on the West Coast of the United States will host cricket during the Los Angeles Olympics. The LA28 Olympic Games will feature men’s and women’s cricket.
The LA28 Organising Committee has announced that the Fairgrounds in Pomona, Southern California, will host cricket at the Los Angeles 2028 (LA28) Olympic Games.
Cricket will return to the Olympic Games from July 14 to 30, marking its first appearance since 1900. Back then, Great Britain faced France in a two-day match.
“Cricket (T20), a globally renowned sport that was added to the 2028 Olympic sport programme in 2023, will make its Southern California debut at the Fairgrounds in Pomona in a temporary, purpose-built structure,” the Games organisers announced.
Pomona is approximately 50 kilometers east of Los Angeles, and the Fairgrounds, formally known as Fairplex, is a 500-acre site that has hosted the Los Angeles County Fair since 1922.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has welcomed the announcement.
ICC Chairman Jay Shah said in a release, “We welcome the announcement of the venue for cricket in Los Angeles 2028, as it is a significant step towards the preparation for our sport’s return to the Olympics.”
“Although cricket is already a hugely popular sport, featuring it at the Olympics in the fast-paced, exciting T20 format presents a fantastic opportunity to expand its traditional boundaries and attract new audiences.”
Cricket was officially added to the Los Angeles Olympics programme during the IOC’s 141st Session in Mumbai in October 2023. It joins five other new sports at LA28: baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse (six-a-side), and squash.
Six cricket teams will compete in the men’s and women’s competitions at the LA28 Olympic Games.
The sport has been allocated 90 athlete quotas, allowing for six-team competitions in both the men’s and women’s events, with each team comprising 15 players. The qualification criteria for these teams are yet to be finalised.
The T20 format, recognised by the ICC as a key driver of the sport’s global expansion, has been featured in other multi-sport events in recent years. The Asian Games in 2010, 2014, and 2023 included both men’s and women’s T20 competitions, while the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games featured only a women’s tournament.(IT)
