The 2027 ICC Men’s ODI World Cup is set to be held across South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia from October 4 to November 21, marking the tournament’s return to the African continent for the first time since 2003. The schedule was approved during the ICC Board meeting in Ahmedabad in May, with final details expected to be ratified at the ICC Annual General Meeting in Edinburgh in July.
According to ESPNcricinfo, South Africa is likely to host the majority of the tournament, staging at least 41 of the 54
matches across eight venues. Zimbabwe is expected to host between eight and ten games at Harare Sports Club, Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, and the newly developed Victoria Falls venue. Namibia is set to stage three matches.
A notable addition is the Fale Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium in Victoria Falls, which is expected to be completed later this year. The venue will host domestic cricket before its official inauguration in May 2027 and is likely to be among the World Cup venues.
The 2027 edition will feature 14 teams, reverting to the format used before the previous two World Cups. Teams will be split into two groups of seven, with the top three sides from each group progressing to the Super Six stage. As Full Members, South Africa and Zimbabwe have secured automatic qualification, while Namibia will need to qualify through the standard pathway.
The tournament will also serve as the first ICC event under the 2027-31 Future Tours Programme (FTP). Discussions surrounding the new FTP are ongoing, with one of the key issues being the future structure of the World Test Championship, including the possibility of expanding it to all 12 Full Members and incorporating one-off Tests into the competition.
Australia are the successful teams in the World Cup lifting the titles in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015, 2023 and India and West Indies hold two titles under their belt.
