The Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games (LA28) organisers revealed the event calendar on Monday, July 14, exactly three years before the Games. While the Olympics are officially scheduled for July 14 to July 30, 2028, cricket will begin on July 12 and end on July 29.
Cricket, along with a few other activities, will begin before the opening ceremony. The organisers have set these early start dates as Minus 2 (July 12) and Minus 1 (July 13). The first phase of cricket matches will be held from July 12 to July 18, followed by medal matches on July 19. After a short hiatus, the second set of matches will take place from July 22 to 28, with the final on July 29. The Olympic Games will conclude the following day, on July 30.
The exact order of the cricket tournaments has yet to be revealed, although it is assumed that the men’s and women’s matches would be played sequentially, with the women’s tournament following the men’s game.
“The gender sequencing for events at the 2028 Games is not yet known.
According to today’s publication, ‘A more thorough calendar including medal events and gender order will be revealed later this year,'” LA28 added.
LA28 has stated that both the men’s and women’s cricket championships would include six teams apiece. All matches will be played at the Fairgrounds Cricket Stadium in Pomona, which is around 48 km from downtown Los Angeles. The organisers characterise the arena as a top-tier edifice created specifically to showcase cricket on a worldwide scale.
“For than a century, this facility has hosted the annual Los Angeles County Fair and a variety of year-round events such as trade exhibitions, meetings, and sporting events. The enormous grounds will serve as the backdrop for Cricket’s triumphal return to the Olympic Games, which has been planned for 128 years, according to a LA28 statement.
Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council (ICC) will conduct its annual session in Singapore from July 17 to 20, where it is expected to settle the qualification process for the quadrennial Games. Most likely, teams will be chosen based on ICC rankings.
However, there have been calls for a qualifying event that may potentially include Associate nations. Given the constraints of the Future Tours Programme (FTP), it is unlikely that the ICC will hold a qualification event, and rankings may ultimately determine the outcome.
India
