2028 Los Angeles Olympics: Pomona in Southern California to host cricket matches in six-team event

Pomona in Southern California will host the cricket matches at the Los Angeles Olympics 2028, the organisers announced on Tuesday. Cricket is returning to the Olympics after a gap of 128 years. On April 9, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed the player quotas and number of participating teams for cricket at the 2028 Olympics.

"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 chairman Jay Shah said in a statement.

“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,” added the former BCCI secretary.

Cricket's history at Olympics

The first and only time cricket was played at the Olympics was during the Paris Games in 1900. The sport made its return to the world's grandest stage at the Los Angeles Olympics after an IOC meeting in Mumbai in October 2023. It is among the five new sports at 2028 Games along with baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse (sixes) and squash.

At the Los Angeles Olympics, cricket will played in T20 format with both men and women competing. T20 cricket has featured in multi-sport events in recent years. The 2010, 2014 and 2023 editions of Asian Games had both men's and women's T20 cricket competitions.

The 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham also staged a women’s T20 cricket competition. The cricket schedule at the LA 2028 will be announced closer to the Games.