Cricket among five sports set to be given green light for 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles

Organizers of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics want cricket to be added to their Olympic programme.

The organizers’ recommendations will be subject to final approval by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), with a session planned in Mumbai later this month, although the Los Angeles Times indicated that sports would likely be approved.

The IOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

LA28 organizers are expected to make their recommendations public in the coming days, according to the Guardian.

Cricket, which enjoys huge global appeal, would return after appearing once at the 1900 Games, following the huge success of women’s cricket at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

“We are delighted that LA28 has recommended the inclusion of cricket in the Olympic Games,” said Greg Barclay, Chairman of the International Cricket Council.

“While this is not the final decision, it is a very important step towards cricket participating in the Olympic Games for the first time in over a century.

“I would like to thank LA28 for their support during the sport’s new evaluation process over the past two years and we look forward to the final decision being made at the IOC Session in India at the World Cup. ICC men’s cricket world next week.”

Of these five sports, three have never been included in an Olympic program.

Flag football, an attractive option for the Games hosted in the United States given the immense popularity of the National Football League (NFL), squash and lacrosse would make their Olympic debut, if approved.

Baseball has been included in several previous Games – and was reinstated in the Tokyo program after being dropped in 2012 and 2016 – but will not be part of the Paris Games.

Softball, contested by female athletes, has appeared in five previous editions of the Summer Games and has also been excluded from the Paris agenda.