LA Olympics 2028: Cricket Tournament Set to Begin on July 12, Medal Matches on July 20 and 29
Cricket is set to return to the Olympic Games for the first time in over a century, with the T20 format being featured at the LA Olympics 2028. The tournament will begin on July 12, with medal matches scheduled for July 20 and July 29. The matches will be held at a temporary, purpose-built venue called Fairgrounds Stadium in Pomona, located about 50 kilometers from Los Angeles.
A total of 180 players from 12 teams — six each in the men’s and women’s categories — will compete in this historic edition. Each squad will comprise 15 players. The match timings are set for 9:00 am and 6:30 pm local time, with most games scheduled as double-headers. There will be no matches on July 14 and 21.
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Fairgrounds Stadium, officially known as Fairplex, is a nearly 500-acre multipurpose facility that has hosted the LA County Fair since 1922 and serves as a venue for concerts, trade shows, sports, and cultural events. It has been transformed to accommodate cricket for the Olympic Games, marking a significant step in the sport’s global expansion.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass highlighted the broader impact of hosting the Games, stating, “When the world comes here for these Games, we will highlight every neighbourhood as we host a Games for all and work to ensure it leaves a monumental legacy.” She also noted that more than one million enrollments have already been recorded in PlayLA, a legacy initiative supporting youth sports access in the city.
This marks only the second time cricket has featured at the Olympics, the first being in 1900 when Great Britain and France played a single match, with the British team taking the gold. Since then, cricket has gradually expanded its international footprint. Women’s cricket made its debut in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, while both men’s and women’s formats have featured in the Asian Games in 2010, 2014, and 2023.
The momentum for cricket’s return to a global multi-sport platform was further boosted when the USA co-hosted the ICC T20 World Cup alongside the West Indies last year. Key matches were held in American venues such as Grand Prairie, Lauderhill, and New York. Notably, the high-stakes clash between India and Pakistan took place at the newly constructed Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, drawing global attention and underscoring the sport’s rising profile in the United States.
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