- By Namrata Vijay
- Wed, 16 Apr 2025 12:13 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
LA 2028 Olympics: The LA28 organizing committee has revealed that the Fairgrounds in Pomona, which is in Southern California, will be hosting the sport of cricket during the LA 2028 Olympics. Cricket would be making a comeback to the quadrennial event between July 14 to 30 and would be making its appearance for the first time after 1900.
Way back in 1900 Great Britain will be locked horns with France for a two-day match.
"Cricket (T20), a globally renowned sport that was added to the 2028 Olympic sport program in 2023, will make its Southern California debut at the Fairgrounds in Pomona in a temporary, purpose-built structure," the organizers issued a statement.
Pomona is located 50km east of Los Angeles, and the Fairgrounds also known as Fairplex, is a 500-acre site, which had held the Los Angeles County Fair after 1922.
The ICC welcomed this decision.
Jay Shah, who is the chairman of ICC issued a statement, which said, "We welcome the announcement of the venue for cricket in Los Angeles 2028, as it is a significant step towards the preparation for our sport's return to the Olympics."
"Although cricket is already a hugely popular sport, featuring it at the Olympics in the fast-paced, exciting T20 format presents a fantastic opportunity to expand its traditional boundaries and attract new audiences" the statement concluded.
Cricket officially became the part of Los Angeles Olympics program in IOC's 141st session, which was held in Mumbai in October 2023. Besides cricket, the other five new sports are- baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse (six-a-side), and squash.
Six cricket teams would be participating in the men's and women's events during the LA28 Olympics.
This sport will allow 90 athletes to participate during a six-team men's and women's event, where each team will have 15 players. Although the qualification criteria haven't been finalized yet.
The shortest format, which as per the ICC has played a huge role in expanding the sport worldwide and has been included in other multi-sports events as well. The Asian Games in 2010, 2014, and 2023 had both men's and women's T20 events, whereas the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham only had a women's event.