Cricket On Wednesday, April 10, South Africa announced the eight locations for the One-Day International World Cup 2027. Notably, South Africa will be joined by Zimbabwe and Namibia as co-hosts; however, details on the venues that have been considered by them have not been announced yet. Since the national team plays most of its games in the capital city, Harare Sports Club is still one of the favorite sites.
Considering the availability and hotels, the shortlisted venues were announced by South Africa’s chief executive officer, Pholetsi Moseki, who shared an update on the locations.
In addition to the quantity of hotel rooms and the accessibility of an airport, the exercise was a scientific one. “If there was disappointment, it was also tempered by the reality that was based on the venues that were chosen,” Moseki reportedly said, according to the South African publication.
It was difficult to omit three of our eleven ICC-accredited sites, but many factors were considered. In addition to the critical subject of training locations not available at the venue, he emphasized that there are others.
Eight locations have been chosen to host the major tournament. These are Wanderers in Johannesburg, Centurion Park in Pretoria, Kingsmead in Durban, St George’s Park in Gqeberha, Boland Park in Paarl, Newlands in Cape Town, the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein, and Buffalo Park in East London.
In the meanwhile, Zimbabwe and South Africa have already secured their spots in the upcoming One-Day International World Cup, while Namibia, although hosting the tournament, will still be required to participate in qualifiers. The United States of America, which will be hosting the Twenty20 World Cup in 2024, had the advantage of not having to compete in the qualifying rounds.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has not yet finalized the dates, but the competition is expected to take place in October or November. In the meanwhile, the number of participating teams will be doubled from ten to fourteen, with seven teams split evenly between the two groups.