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[Saba Sports News] Just before the kickoff of the first CWC League 2 tri-series, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has revealed updates to the qualification process for the 2027 ODI World Cup, which will be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. Alongside the host nations, South Africa and Zimbabwe, who automatically qualify, 34 additional teams will vie for a spot in the expanded 14-team tournament.
With the elimination of the CWC Super League, the Netherlands returns to Associate competitions, and direct qualification is now exclusively available to ICC Full Members through the ODI rankings. The top eight Full Members in the rankings at a yet-to-be-determined cutoff date will join Zimbabwe and South Africa in qualifying directly, leaving the two lowest-ranked to compete alongside top Associate teams in the CWC Qualifier, which now offers four spots due to the World Cup’s expansion to 14 teams.
The qualification process begins with the CWC Challenge Playoff in Kuala Lumpur, introducing four teams to the CWC Challenge League. This eight-team tournament features Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Tanzania against the four lowest-ranked teams from the last Challenge League cycle, competing for promotion to the List A competition.
The Challenge League will continue with two groups of six teams each, running three round-robin tournaments. A change from the previous cycle is that the top two teams from each group will advance to the 2026 CWC Qualifier Playoff, which has expanded to include eight teams. This stage will see the top four Challenge League sides face the bottom four from CWC League 2, with potential for promotion and relegation between the tiers.
CWC League 2 will maintain a similar format, with an eight-team competition leading to the World Cup Qualifier. The first League 2 series in Kathmandu features Nepal hosting Namibia and the Netherlands, showcasing the competitive structure designed to determine ODI status and World Cup qualification.