The 2027 ICC Men’s ODI World Cup will be hosted across South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia, running from October 4 to November 21. The tournament marks the first time the event has returned to the African continent since 2003. The schedule was approved at the ICC Board meeting in Ahmedabad in May, with final details slated for ratification at the ICC Annual General Meeting in Edinburgh in July.
South Africa is expected to host the majority of the matches, with at least 41 of the 54 games scheduled at eight venues across the country. Zimbabwe will host between eight and ten matches at Harare Sports Club, Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, and the newly developed Victoria Falls venue. Namibia will stage three matches.
A notable addition to the lineup is the Fale Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium in Victoria Falls, which is slated for completion later this year. The venue will host domestic cricket before its official inauguration in May 2027 and is likely to be one of the World Cup sites.
The tournament will feature 14 teams, returning to the format used before the previous two World Cups. Teams will be divided into two groups of seven, with the top three sides from each group advancing to the Super Six stage. South Africa and Zimbabwe, as Full Members, have secured automatic qualification, while Namibia will need to qualify through the standard pathway.
The 2027 edition will also serve as the inaugural ICC event under the 2027‑31 Future Tours Programme (FTP). Discussions about the new FTP are underway, with key topics including the future structure of the World Test Championship and the potential expansion to all 12 Full Members, possibly incorporating one‑off Tests into the competition.
Australia remain the most successful team in the history of the World Cup, having claimed titles in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015, and 2023, while India and the West Indies each hold two titles.
