The International Cricket Council (ICC) late Tuesday night confirmed the Fairgrounds in Pomona, Southern California as the venue for cricket at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. After its confirmation in October 2023, cricket will make a return to the Olympics after its only appearance in the Summer Games in 1900 in Paris, 128 years ago.
Host to the Los Angeles County Fair since 1922, Fairgrounds, also known as Fairplex in Pomona, which is 50 km east of LA. The tournament will feature men’s and women’s competitions featuring six teams each as opposed to a one-off final in Paris all those years ago, with the allocated athletes quota of 90 players, 15 players in each squad.
“We welcome the announcement of the venue for cricket at Los Angeles 2028 as it is a significant step towards the preparation for our sport’s return to the Olympics,” ICC Chair Jay Shah said. Although cricket is a hugely popular sport, it will be a fantastic opportunity to expand traditional boundaries when it features in the Olympics in the fast-paced, exciting T20 format that should appeal to new audiences.
“On behalf of the ICC, I want to express my gratitude to LA28 and the International Olympic Committee for their support and look forward to collaborating with them and ICC Members in preparing for LA28 and making cricket a huge success there,” Shah added.
Cricket’s return was confirmed in October 2023 along with four more sporting disciplines for the 2028 Olympics – baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse (sixes) and squash. Cricket has been part of the Asian Games in 2010, 2014 and 2023 but a women’s competition featuring in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games was probably the watershed moment as far as the sport’s appearance in multi-sport events is concerned and its push towards its return in the Olympics.
