International Olympic Committee board approves five new sports, including cricket, for Los Angeles 2028 Games | Olympics News
Cricket is set for an Olympic return after appearing once before, at the 1900 Games; International Olympic Committee executive board confirmed on Friday it had approved including the sport at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, alongside flag football, lacrosse, squash and softball
Last Updated: 13/10/23 12:37pm
IOC President Thomas Bach confirms that cricket has been approved for inclusion at the 2028 Olympics and is confident it will help grow the global popularity of the sport
IOC President Thomas Bach confirms that cricket has been approved for inclusion at the 2028 Olympics and is confident it will help grow the global popularity of the sport
Cricket is set for an Olympic return after appearing only once before at the Games, back in 1900 in Paris.
The International Olympic Committee executive board confirmed on Friday that it had approved including the sport at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, alongside flag football, lacrosse, squash, and softball.
“We see the growing popularity of cricket, particularly the T20 format,” IOC President Thomas Bach told a press conference at the end of the executive board meeting.
“We are ready to welcome the world’s best players of cricket to perform in the United States in 2028, while showcasing iconic American sports to the world.”
The Los Angeles Games proposal is for a six-team Twenty20 cricket tournament for men and women.
The Los Angeles 2028 Olympics is set to include Twenty20 cricket tournaments for both men and women (picture credit: ENCA)
While all five sports’ inclusion is only for one edition of the Games, they are banking on the boost provided by Olympic participation to spur growth as they look to remain an attractive product going into the next four-year cycle.
Baseball has featured in several previous Games. It was added to the Tokyo 2020 program after being left off in 2012 and 2016, but it will not be a part of next year’s Paris Games.
Softball, the women’s counterpart to baseball, has appeared at five previous editions of the Summer Games and was also left off the Paris agenda, while flag football, a non-contact format of American football, has not yet made the cut.
