T20 World Cup ‘stepping stone’ to building US fan base for 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, says ICC
- Showpiece 20-over event will be co-hosted by the West Indies and the US with New York, Florida and Dallas as venues
- ICC said it was confident the tournament would help the sport leave a mark in a land where baseball rules
Next month’s T20 World Cup will help build cricket’s profile and popularity in the United States ahead of its appearance at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, the sport’s world body said.
The showpiece 20-over event will be co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States in June with New York, Florida and Dallas as venues.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) said it was confident the tournament would help the sport leave a mark in a land where baseball rules.
“The fact that a World Cup has come to the US – the largest sports market in the world – that, in itself, has generated a lot of interest,” Chris Tetley, the ICC’s head of events, told reporters in a media round table on Tuesday.
“This is a key stepping stone for the promotion of the game towards 2028 and beyond, in terms of providing world-class cricket for the massive existing fan base that the sport already has in the US.
“We are trying to give them something they haven’t had on their doorstep before and maybe pique the interest of the American sports community by telling them that cricket’s actually an older sport in the US than baseball.”
