2027 World Cup qualifiers to be held in South Africa and Namibia from February 26

South Africa and Namibia will co-host the 2027 ODI World Cup Qualifiers, a 10-team tournament scheduled to run from February 26 to March 21, 2027. The event will determine which additional nations join the sides that have already secured their places at the 2027 ODI World Cup.

The dates were confirmed at ICC meetings held in Dubai in late September 2026. The ICC had initially indicated a window of February 22 to March 23 before revising the schedule to the current dates. The revised window sits neatly between two major domestic competitions: the SA20 runs from January 17 to February 21, 2027, ending just days before the qualifiers begin, while the IPL 2027 season window runs from March 14 to May 30, with the tournament itself expected to get under way at the end of March.

South Africa and Zimbabwe have already been granted automatic entry to the 2027 ODI World Cup as co-hosts of the main event. They are joined by eight sides who secured automatic qualification: India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Australia, England, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The qualifier and a subsequent Super Series will settle the remaining berths.

ODI World Cup Schedule 2027: Date, Time, Fixtures, Venues

Read More

ODI World Cup Schedule 2027: Date, Time, Fixtures, Venues

Which teams will compete in the 2027 World Cup Qualifiers?

West Indies and Ireland are among the confirmed participants in the 10-team qualifier. Ireland secured their place as a Full Member side on the basis of ICC ODI rankings as at September 30, 2026. Four nations who finished at the top of World Cricket League Division 2, namely Scotland, USA, Netherlands and Oman, have also been included in the field.

A separate playoff, scheduled for December 1 to 22 at a venue yet to be announced, will determine further participants. That playoff brings together the four sides who finished at the bottom of WCL Division 2, which are Namibia, Canada, Nepal and UAE, alongside the four Challenge League teams who finished highest: Italy, Uganda, Jersey and Kuwait.

Namibia, as a qualifier co-host, have an alternative route into the main event. They can secure a direct berth without going through the playoff by defeating USA and UAE twice each in matches beginning October 3, provided results elsewhere between Oman, Nepal and Canada fall in their favour.

How does qualification to the 2027 World Cup work from the qualifiers?

The team that wins the qualifier will advance directly to the group stage of the 2027 ODI World Cup. The three remaining sides from the qualifier will then contest a Super Series to be held in Namibia, and the winner of that series will also earn a place in the main group stage.

Taken together, the qualifier and the Super Series will add two more nations to the 2027 ODI World Cup beyond the ten sides that have already confirmed their participation through automatic or host-nation qualification. The pathway gives associate nations and lower-ranked Full Members a structured route to the global event. Specific match venues within South Africa and Namibia for the qualifier have not yet been confirmed.