Has any country hosted a Cricket World Cup without qualifying? How Namibia can co-host 2027 ODI WC and still fail to qualify
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KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Namibia has not secured automatic qualification for the 2027 ODI World Cup, despite being a co-host with South Africa and Zimbabwe.
- Namibia will not be the first co-host to not play in a World Cup it is hosting.
- The 1999 ODI World Cup co-hosts, Ireland and the Netherlands, had previously failed to qualify for the tournament.
Has any host nation hosted a Cricket World Cup without qualifying or playing in it?
The 2027 ODI World Cup will be the first in Africa after 24 years. South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia are the co-hosts.
Namibia Cricket Ground in Windhoek will also stage six matches in the tournament, starting in October 2027 - three in the group stage and three in the Super Series.
The Namibian team, however, has not yet secured its place in the 14-team field. There is a risk they may still miss out on the main tournament.
That brings the question: Has any country hosted a World Cup without qualifying? Yes. Ireland and the Netherlands were co-hosts of the 1999 ODI World Cup alongside England & Wales, and Scotland.
Only England (& Wales) received direct qualification, while Scotland, Ireland, and the Netherlands, being non-full members or associate nations, needed to follow a qualification pathway. The Scots managed to qualify despite the hurdle, while the other two could not.
The 2021 T20 World Cup was co-hosted in the UAE and Oman, with India being the official host. While Oman qualified via the qualifiers, the UAE did not.
Has any country hosted a Cricket World Cup without qualifying?
The first six men's ODI World Cups were hosted by countries whose teams also played in the tournament. England hosted the first three editions, before India and Pakistan shared the 1987 event, Australia and New Zealand hosted in 1992, and India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka shared the 1996 tournament.
The 1999 World Cup was the first notable exception. The tournament was staged across England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and the Netherlands, with Ireland and the Netherlands each hosting one match despite failing to qualify.
Scotland, meanwhile, qualified through the 1997 ICC Trophy and became the first Associate nation to play a World Cup match on home soil.
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Kenya was a different case in 2003. South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya co-hosted the tournament, and Kenya qualified automatically because it held full ODI status at the time. The hosts then went on to make history by reaching the semi-finals, becoming the only non-Test nation to reach the last four of a men's ODI World Cup.
There have also been examples in men's T20 cricket, although they are not directly comparable. The 2021 T20 World Cup was officially hosted by India and moved to venues in the United Arab Emirates and Oman; India qualified for the tournament, while the UAE did not.
In 2024, the United States and West Indies were the official co-hosts, and both received automatic qualification, with the USA making its T20 World Cup debut.
Men's ODI World Cup hosts
YearHost(s)Did the hosts qualify and play?1975EnglandYes1979EnglandYes1983England (some matches in Wales)Yes1987India, PakistanYes, both1992Australia, New ZealandYes, both1996India, Pakistan, Sri LankaYes, all three1999England, with matches in Wales, Scotland, Ireland and the NetherlandsEngland (direct qualification) and Scotland played. Ireland and the Netherlands did not qualify.2003South Africa, Zimbabwe, KenyaYes2007West IndiesYes2011India, Sri Lanka, BangladeshYes2015Australia, New ZealandYes2019England and WalesYes2023IndiaYes2027South Africa, Zimbabwe, NamibiaSouth Africa and Zimbabwe automatically qualified as hosts. Namibia's status is TBA being an associate team.Men's T20 World Cup hosts
YearHost(s)Did the hosts qualify and play?2007South AfricaYes2009EnglandYes2010West IndiesYes2012Sri LankaYes2014BangladeshYes2016IndiaYes2021India (official host), played in the UAE and OmanIndia and Oman played. The UAE did not qualify.2022AustraliaYes2024United States, West IndiesYes2026India, Sri LankaYes2028Australia, New ZealandYes2030England & Wales, Ireland, ScotlandNot yet decidedHas this happened in the Women's World Cup?
No. Every named host has played in all 13 women's ODI World Cups from 1973 to 2025. The same is true of the 10 women's T20 World Cups to 2026. Hosts have always been established Full Members such as England, India, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Women's ODI World Cup
YearHostHost Qualified?Host Played?1973EnglandYesYes1978IndiaYesYes1982New ZealandYesYes1988AustraliaYesYes1993EnglandYesYes1997IndiaYesYes2000New ZealandYesYes2005South AfricaYesYes2009AustraliaYesYes2013IndiaYesYes2017EnglandYesYes2022New ZealandYesYes2025India & Sri LankaYesYesWomen's T20 World Cup
YearHostHost Qualified?Host Played?2009EnglandYesYes2010West IndiesYesYes2012Sri LankaYesYes2014BangladeshYesYes2016IndiaYesYes2018West IndiesYesYes2020AustraliaYesYes2023South AfricaYesYes2024BangladeshYesYes2026EnglandYesYesHow can Namibia qualify for the 2027 ODI World Cup?
Namibia can still qualify for the 2027 World Cup despite being an Associate nation and one of the co-hosts. It does not receive an automatic place, unlike Full Member hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Its first objective is to reach the 10-team World Cup Qualifier. Namibia can do that either by finishing in the top four of CWC League 2 or, if it finishes in the bottom four, by advancing through the eight-team Qualifier Play-off.
Once in the World Cup Qualifier, Namibia must finish in the top four to secure a place in the World Cup. However, there is an important distinction: only the Qualifier winner advances directly to the main World Cup Group Stage.
The second, third, and fourth-placed teams also qualify for the World Cup, but they must begin the tournament in the three-team Super Series in Namibia.
Those three teams will play each other once, with the winner advancing to the 12-team Group Stage. The other two teams will be eliminated.
That gives Namibia several possible routes to the main Group Stage.
So even if Namibia successfully qualifies for the World Cup through the Qualifier, it may still have to win a Super Series at its own home ground in Windhoek to reach the main Group Stage.
The three Super Series matches are scheduled for October 2, 4 and 6, 2027.
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