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The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the venues for the 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
The 50-over tournament will be staged across 12 venues, with eight in South Africa, three in Zimbabwe and one in Namibia. It will be the first ODI World Cup to be held in Africa since the 2003 edition, which was co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya.
South Africa’s host cities are Johannesburg, Centurion, Cape Town, Durban, Gqeberha, Bloemfontein, Paarl and East London. Zimbabwe will stage matches in Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls, while Namibia will host its games in Windhoek.
The venues were unveiled at a ceremony in Johannesburg attended by ICC Chairman Jay Shah, senior cricket officials and several current and former players from the three host nations.
The 2027 World Cup will feature 57 matches and introduce a revised three-stage competition format.
Under the new format, the teams ranked 12th to 14th will compete in an opening qualifying phase, with the winner advancing to the main tournament.
The main competition will feature 12 teams split into two groups of six. The leading teams from each group will advance to the Super Seven stage, from which the top four sides will qualify for the semi-finals before the final.
ICC Chairman Jay Shah described the tournament’s return to Africa after 24 years as a significant milestone for international cricket and said he was confident South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia would jointly deliver a successful and memorable World Cup.
