New Delhi: The South Californian city of Pomona will host the cricket competition during the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the ICC has announced. Cricket, which is returning to the Olympics after 128 years, will feature six teams each in the men’s and women’s competitions and will be held at the Fairgrounds in Pomona.
The city is located 48km from Los Angeles, which is the main venue of the Games. Fairgrounds or Fairplex, as it is more popularly known, is a facility that is used for conventions, and commercial, educational and sports (primarily motorsports) events through the year. There is no designated cricket ground at the venue.
“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 release on Tuesday night.
“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.”
Cricket, which made its only appearance in the Olympics at the Paris Games in 1900, was included in the Los Angeles Olympics programme after the International Olympic Committee’s 141st Session at Mumbai in October 2023. Cricket joined five new sports at LA28, including baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse (sixes) and squash.
The T20 format, recognised as the vehicle for the growth of the game by the ICC, has also featured in other multi-sport events in recent years.
The Asian Games in 2010, 2014 and 2023 featured both men’s and women’s T20 competitions while the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games staged a women”s competition.
Cricket is officially set to return to the Olympics at LA 2028, with South California’s Pomona city selected as one of the host venues. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
