ICC confirms 12 venues for ODI World Cup 2027 in Africa
ICC unveils venues for ODI World Cup 2027 (Source: X/@ICC)
Published - 31 Jul 2026, 11:35 AM• Read time - 2 mins
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed 12 venues for the 2027 ODI World Cup, set to be hosted in Southern Africa. Eight cities in South Africa, three in Zimbabwe, and Namibia’s capital, Windhoek, will be co-hosting the cricketing extravaganza, which returns to Africa after 24 years.
A total of 57 matches will be played during the tournament, which will be hosted mainly by eight cities in South Africa, namely Johannesburg, Centurion, Durban, Gqeberha, KuGompo City, Cape Town, Paarl and Bloemfontein.
Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe will bear witness to seven to ten matches while Namibia’s capital, Windhoek, will host at least three matches. Victoria Falls is the only new venue added since the original list was finalised several years ago.
The city’s 10,000-seat stadium is expected to be completed later this year, with domestic fixtures set to be played there during the home summer. The venue is then expected to host its first international matches in the opening months of 2027.
Benoni and Potchefstroom will serve as warm-up venues and are also expected to co-host the World Cup Qualifier alongside Namibia. The tournament is scheduled for early next year, when South Africa's six primary international venues, Wanderers, SuperSport Park, Newlands, Kingsmead, St George's Park and Boland Park, will be unavailable due to the SA20.
World Cup 2027 to be contested in new format
The last ODI World Cup hosted in Africa was in 2003 when South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya hosted the tournament. Since then, South Africa have hosted the inaugural men's T20 World Cup in 2007, the Women's T20 World Cup in 2023, and both the men's and women's Under-19 World Cups.
Namibia, meanwhile, is set to host its first senior ICC event, having previously co-hosted the ICC Under-19 Men's World Cup with Zimbabwe earlier this year. The 2027 ODI World Cup has been provisionally scheduled to run from October 4 to November 21. The tournament will be held in the new three-stage format finalised by the ICC, with 14 teams set to contest for the biggest prize in international cricket.