2027 Men's ODI World Cup: Venues announced for Africa-hosted event
What's the story
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the venues for the 2027 Men's ODI World Cup. The tournament will be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. This is the first time in 24 years that the ICC event will return to Africa since the 2003 edition hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Kenya. Here's more.
Venue allocation
A look at the venues
South Africa will host matches at eight venues: Wanderers Stadium (Johannesburg), Centurion (Tshwane), Newlands Cricket Ground (Cape Town), Kingsmead Cricket Ground (Durban), St George's Park (Gqeberha), Mangaung Oval (Bloemfontein), Boland Park (Paarl), and Buffalo Park (KuGompo City).
Zimbabwe will stage games across three venues: Harare Sports Club, Queens Sports Club, and Fale Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium in Victoria Falls.
Historic hosting
Namibia to host senior ICC event for 1st time
Namibia will host their first-ever senior ICC tournament at the Namibia Cricket Ground in Windhoek.
The 2027 Men's ODI World Cup will feature a total of 54 matches and a new tournament format.
A Super Series featuring teams ranked 12th to 14th will determine the final qualifier for the main competition.
The winner will join 11 other teams in the league stage, which consists of two groups of six teams each.
Tournament progression
A look at the new format of the tournament
In the league stage, each team will play the others in its group once, with a total of 30 matches.
The top three teams from each group and one best-placed team across two groups will qualify for the Super 7 stage.
This will have 21 round-robin matches after which the top four teams will progress to semi-finals.
The winners of these semis will then go on to contest the final match of this prestigious tournament.
Jay Shah
ICC Chairman Jay Shah has his say on the event
"This marks an exciting milestone on the road to the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2027," ICC Chairman Jay Shah said.
"The unveiling of the host cities and the tournament brand signals the start of a journey that will unite fans around the world and build anticipation for one of our sport's biggest global events."
"The return of this prestigious tournament to Africa after 24 years is a landmark moment for cricket. We are confident that South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia will deliver an unforgettable event, showcasing the warmth, passion and rich diversity that make this region truly unique," he added.