On October 1, the ICC announced the schedule and venues for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027, and one venue that caught the attention of fans is the Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium, located in the Masuwe Special Economic Zone of Victoria Falls.
Zimbabwe are set to host the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027 alongside South Africa and Namibia. Apart from regular venues such as Harare Sports Club in Harare and Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe will also stage a few matches in Victoria Falls, one of the country’s major tourist destinations and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium is one of three Zimbabwean venues for the competition. It is currently under construction and is expected to be unveiled in the coming months. The ICC Cricket World Cup 2027 will be the first major international event that the stadium will host.
The foundation stone for the mega project was laid in 2024, and the entire project has been funded by Zimbabwe Cricket, with an investment of US$12 million. This comes despite earlier claims that the ICC had funded the project.
How Many Matches Will Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium Host in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027?
Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium will stage four matches during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027, including the final group-stage game between hosts Zimbabwe and India, as well as three Super 7 matches.
Zimbabwe Cricket was allocated 10 hectares of land by the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Development (MoTDC) to construct the stadium and practice facilities on a 25-year lease. The stadium will have a capacity of 10,000 spectators.
The Purpose Behind Constructing Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium
Zimbabwe Cricket’s ambitious plan to construct the stadium in Victoria Falls has received criticism, particularly over the project’s budget and the decision to develop a new stadium in a major tourism destination.
Rather than promoting cricket in already established centres such as Harare and Bulawayo, Zimbabwe Cricket is pursuing the economic potential of Victoria Falls. The board is keen to attract foreign teams to the tourist destination, including cricketing giants such as India, England and Australia.
According to reports, following the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027, Zimbabwe Cricket plans to host England at the venue, which could attract a significant number of overseas fans.
David Coltart, the former Zimbabwe Sports Minister and the Mayor of Bulawayo, said:
“Victoria Falls is a small tourist town with a tiny cricket-supporting population. The development of this boutique stadium is unprecedented worldwide. In every other Test-playing nation, the primary investment by their Boards has been to invest in existing stadia in large population centres right across their countries.
It must be clear that this stadium is not primarily part of an objective to take the game to smaller centres to promote the game. It appears to be mainly to have a stadium in a tourist centre to attract foreign teams who will come for reasons beyond the sole purpose of playing cricket.”
The ICC Cricket World Cup 2027 will begin on October 2, 2027, in the Namibian capital, Windhoek, and conclude on November 21, 2027, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
