The International Cricket Council (ICC) has been formally asked by Cricket West Indies (CWI) to create an equitable and open process that would enable at least one independent Caribbean country to compete in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
The Caribbean island nations are governed by the same cricket board (CWI) and have historically played under the same West Indies banner. Participation in the Olympic Games is restricted to sovereign nations.
The area is looking for guarantees that at least one of its sovereign states will have the chance to qualify to represent the Caribbean on the international scene, since six teams are scheduled to compete in the men’s and women’s T20 cricket competitions at the 2028 Olympics.
“At the Olympics, the Caribbean has consistently outperformed its peers, inspiring the globe with our athletic prowess. The same hope that has motivated our athletes must continue to inspire our young cricket players when cricket returns to the Games in 2028. The Olympic Charter places a strong emphasis on universality, justice, and openness. We are only requesting that these values be respected in both their structure and spirit. “West Indies cricket needs a path and deserves a chance to compete,” said Kishore Swallow, president of the CWI, in a statement.
Both the women’s and men’s teams from the West Indies will be eligible to compete in the 2028 Olympics based on the current rankings cut-off. However, despite their low rating, there are issues with the United States of America (USA) possibly being automatically qualified as the host country. There would only be five spaces left for other teams to qualify if the USA were given direct entry. There has been no formal notification from the ICC as of yet about the Olympic qualification procedure.
In October 2023, Kit McConnell, the sports director for the International Olympic Committee, stated, “Typically, the host nation is one of the teams in the team sports, and then we look at a balance of global strength and regional representation, and try to find that balance within the available quota as well.”
The CWI has suggested that an internal qualifying tournament be held among the Olympic-affiliated member countries in the Caribbean to decide which sovereign nation will represent the region if the West Indies men’s and women’s teams meet the requirements and the ICC rankings are used for Olympic qualification.
However, the CWI has proposed a worldwide qualifying pathway that would comprise sovereign West Indies member nations as well as associate ICC members from the five ICC Development Regions.
The CWI board has highlighted the need for a clear and equitable qualification procedure. They emphasised that Caribbean cricket players shouldn’t be excluded from the Olympics and that they would be happy to work with all parties involved to find a suitable solution.
“As consistent gold medal winners, our countries have proudly hoisted their individual flags atop Olympic podiums. We must now make sure that our cricket players are not excluded from history as a result of cricket’s inclusion. We are prepared to work together. We’re prepared to fight. However, we are primarily requesting equity,” stated Chris Dehring, the CEO of CWI.
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