The ICC has confirmed 12 host cities for the 2027 men’s ODI World Cup, which will be held in Southern Africa for the first time in 24 years. In South Africa, the eight cities Johannesburg, Centurion, Durban, Gqeberha, KuGompo City, Cape Town, Paarl and Bloemfontein will stage the bulk of the 54 matches with the final to be held either at the Wanderers or at Newlands. Seven to 10 games will be played between Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and Windhoek in Namibia will also host at least three matches.

Of those, Victoria Falls is the only addition after the original venues were agreed upon several years ago. The city’s new 10,000-seater stadium is expected to be completed later this year, with domestic matches scheduled for the home summer. It is likely to be officially opened in the first quarter of 2027 for international matches.

Benoni and Potchefstroom will be used as warm-up venues and are likely to co-host the World Cup Qualifier with Namibia. That tournament is scheduled to take place early next year, at a time when South Africa’s six main stadiums – Wanderers, SuperSport Park, Newlands, Kingsmead, St George’s Park, and Boland – will be occupied with the SA20.

The ODI World Cup returns to Africa after 24 years. South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya had hosted the 2003 tournament. Since then, South Africa have hosted the inaugural men’s T20 World Cup in 2007, the women’s T20 World Cup in 2023 as well as men’s and women’s U-19 World Cups. Namibia, meanwhile, will be hosting a senior ICC tournament for the first time, having hosted the Under-19 men’s World Cup along with Zimbabwe earlier this year.