Cricket, flag football get IOC approval for 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
India’s Kuldeep Yadav celebrates the wicket of Pakistan’s Saud Shakeel during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup match between India and Pakistan in Ahmedabad, India, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
MUMBAI, India — Cricket is an Olympic sport again. Flag football gets in for the first time.
Five sports were finally added to the 2028 Los Angeles Games by the International Olympic Committee on Monday with baseball-softball, lacrosse and squash also confirmed for the program.
The slate of sports proposed by Los Angeles officials one week ago and recommended by the IOC executive board on Friday cleared a final hurdle Monday from the Olympic body’s full membership.
All five were voted in as a single package with two “no” votes from about 90 IOC members in the room in Mumbai, India.
Cricket was elevated to Olympic status for the first time since 1900 in one of the hotpots of the sport where the IOC is holding annual meetings while India hosts the sport’s World Cup.
Adding cricket to the Olympic program is expected to raise the value of India’s broadcasting rights for the IOC by more than $100 million. The Olympic tournaments for men and women should each have six teams playing the shortened and dynamic Twenty20 format.
FILE – AFC wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) of the Miami Dolphins carries the ball against NFC cornerback Tariq Woolen (27) of the Seattle Seahawks and outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith (55) of the Minnesota Vikings during the flag football event at the NFL Pro Bowl, Feb. 5, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker, File)
Flag football and baseball-softball should put NFL and MLB players on the Olympic stage in five years’ time.
Football in its full-contact form was a demonstration sport at the 1932 Olympics when Los Angeles first hosted the Summer Games.
“We want LA 2028 to have the same springboard effect for our five sports,” organizing committee chairman Casey Wasserman told IOC members.
Lacrosse was twice played at the Olympics, though not since 1908, and will be at LA in a six-a-side format. Squash will make its debut.
There was no space for breakdance, which will not return after making its Olympic debut in Paris next year.
