The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that the 2027 men’s Cricket World Cup will be cohosted by three African countries: Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia.
It will be the first time since 2003 that the event will be held on the continent, after venues in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya were used 18 years ago.
“This is fantastic news, coming after we worked hard and with determination as a group to get the World Cup back on our soil,” Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani said.
“And this is clearly a vote of confidence in what we as Zimbabwe Cricket are doing and in what we as Africa can do.
“We are humbled by the trust the ICC has placed in our bid and thrilled by the opportunity we have been given to put cricket on a new and sustainable path for generations to come.
“On our part, we are ready to ensure the ICC men’s Cricket World Cup 2027 stands out as a unique event that celebrates Africa in all its magnificent splendour, richness, vibrancy, diversity and glory.”
The 2003 tournament was slightly overshadowed by England and New Zealand refusing to travel to play in Zimbabwe and Kenya respectively because of security concerns.
Despite those refusals Pakistan, Netherlands, Australia, India and Namibia all played in Zimbabwe while Sri Lanka travelled to face Kenya in Nairobi.
Namibia, who recently created history at the T20 World Cup by reaching the latter stages of the tournament, are included as co-hosts despite having limited cricketing resources in the country.
