After much speculation, its official! Cricket will be played at Olympics. International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session has approved Los Angeles 2028 Olympics organising committee’s proposal for the inclusion of 5 additional sports in the sporting event. Baseball/ softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash have been officially included as additional sports on the programme for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028.
These sports have been included as a package for their edition of the Games only, and were reviewed and supported by the IOC’s Olympic Programme Commission (OPC) and Executive Board (EB).
Two IOC members opposed the proposal while one abstained from voting, said IOC President Thomas Bach.
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Flag football and squash will be making their Olympic debut in LA, while, baseball and softball, cricket and lacrosse will make a comeback to the event. Baseball and softball have been part of the programme at several editions of the Olympic Games, most recently at Tokyo 2020.
On the other hand, cricket was on the programme for the Olympic Games Paris 1900 and Lacrosse was included on the programme at St Louis 1904 and London 1908.
“The choice of these five new sports is in line with the American sports culture and will showcase iconic American sports to the world, while bringing international sports to the United States. These sports will make the Olympic Games LA28 unique,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “Their inclusion will allow the Olympic Movement to engage with new athlete and fan communities in the US and globally.”
The decision to include these sports was taken after a thorough process and analysis based on evaluation criteria set out before the process began, including gender equality. It considered the utilisation of existing facilities, involving a wide range of sports communities both in the United States and globally, and incorporating some of the most popular sports in the United States and across the globe.