Qualification event may offer 2028 LA Olympics lifeline to Black Caps

Wednesday, 12 November 2025

Black Caps star Kane Williamson has announced his retirement from Twenty20 international cricket.

A qualifying tournament may offer the Black Caps a way into the LA Olympics.

It’s understood the International Cricket Council has - in agreement with the International Olympic Committee - opted for a ‘regional’ selection system during a recent ICC Board meeting in Dubai to determine which sides will contest the six-team men’s T20 competition at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

That will see the ICC’s top-ranked teams from Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania gain an automatic spot at the cut-off date for Olympic qualification, as reported by The Post in July, with questions remaining over the Americas.

It appears the final place available in the men’s event will be via a global qualifying tournament, but with details yet to be confirmed. Finding a window among ICC and franchise T20 events, and a neutral hosting venue, could prove problematic.

Qualification for the women’s tournament for LA 2028 was initially expected to be decided by placings at next year’s T20 World Cup staged in England - but the same ‘regional’ approach for the men’s event may now be used, which would almost certainly lead to a qualification tournament being necessary for the White Ferns to make the Games.

Australia is heavily favoured to be awarded the men's spot for Oceania, based on the ICC rankings, which currently has them at No.2 with a rating of 267, with New Zealand the fourth-ranked team on 251.

The Black Caps sit fourth in the ICC T20 rankings, but behind Australia in the Oceania region as plans are put together for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

India head the rankings on 278 - ahead of the 2026 T20 men’s World Cup starting in India and Sri Lanka in February - and have a healthy advantage over Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh for the Asia qualifying place for Los Angeles.

England are the third-ranked men’s T20 nation, but at the Olympic Games, England athletes are part of a Great Britain team.

To deal with that issue, the English Cricket Board has formed Great Britain Cricket as an entity along with Cricket Scotland and Cricket Ireland.

South Africa are the obvious qualifiers from Africa, but doubt remains over how the ICC will tackle the problems surrounding the Americas representation.

The West Indies compete in ICC events as a team selected from fifteen Caribbean nation-states and territories, which compete separately at the Olympics, and the IOC is unlikely to accept them as a combined team, despite allowing for a Great Britain side.

The United States may be granted a place as tournament hosts, but there could be concerns that their men’s team is currently ranked 18th in the T20 format and their women's team sits outside the top 20. The ICC suspended USA Cricket’s membership in September, while saying the USA’s national teams will retain their right to participate in ICC events, including preparations for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The West Indies have asked the ICC to consider allowing one of the regional countries to represent the Caribbean at the Games.

The White Ferns are the current women’s T20 World Cup holders, but sit fourth on the ICC rankings (253), headed by Australia on 299.