International Olympic Committee board approves five new sports, including cricket, for Los Angeles 2028 Games

Cricket is set to make an Olympic return after appearing once before, at the 1900 Games; The executive committee of the International Olympic Committee confirmed on Friday that it had approved the inclusion of the sport in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, alongside flag football, lacrosse, squash and softball.

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IOC President Thomas Bach confirms that cricket’s inclusion in the 2028 Olympics has been approved and is confident it will help increase the sport’s global popularity.

Cricket is set to make an Olympic return after appearing only once before at the Games, in 1900 in Paris.

The executive committee of the International Olympic Committee confirmed on Friday that it had approved the inclusion of the sport in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, alongside flag football, lacrosse, squash and softball.

“We see the growing popularity of cricket, especially the T20 format,” IOC President Thomas Bach told a news conference after the executive board meeting.

“We are ready to welcome the world’s best cricketers to perform in the United States in 2028, while introducing the world to iconic American sports.”

The Los Angeles Games proposal is for a six-team Twenty20 cricket tournament for men and women.

The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics are expected to include Twenty20 cricket tournaments for men and women (Photo credit: ENCA)

Although the inclusion of all five sports is only for one edition of the Games, they are counting on the boost provided by Olympic participation to drive growth, while seeking to remain an attractive product over the next four-year cycle .

Baseball has been present in several previous Games. It was added to the Tokyo 2020 program after being dropped in 2012 and 2016, but it will not be part of next year’s Paris Games.

Softball, the women’s counterpart to baseball, has appeared in five previous editions of the Summer Games and has also been left off the Parisian agenda, while flag football, the non-contact format of American football, has not still been retained.