Cricket, baseball/softball, lacrosse, flag football and squash will be part of the competition program at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The organizers in Los Angeles announced this on Monday. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) still has to approve this decision. This is to take place at the IOC session in Mumbai, India, which begins on Sunday.
“The sports proposed by LA28 stimulate imagination on the field and promote culture. They are relevant, innovative and community-focused and are played in backyards, schoolyards, community centers, stadiums and parks across the U.S. and around the world,” said LA28 Chairman Casey Wasserman. The Los Angeles games will take place July 14-30, 2028.
Second game 128 years after the first
Cricket was only played at the Olympic Games in Paris in 1900. At that time there was only one game for gold, which England won against France. A tournament for women and men is to be held in Los Angeles in a shorter version (Twenty 20) than the original.
According to industry experts, the Olympic broadcast rights for cricket are worth a good 175 million euros. The Cricket World Cup is currently underway in India. The sport’s six-week title fights are not only generating great interest in the host country. Cricket is also very popular in Australia and Great Britain.
Baseball and the women’s version of softball have been part of the Olympic program several times, most recently in Tokyo in 2021. Lacrosse was already played in St. Louis in 1904 and in London in 1908.
Flag football and squash before the premiere
Flag football – a disembodied version of American football – will be played at the Olympics for the first time. Squash has never been part of the program either, but in the fifth attempt it seems to have worked.
It is still unclear whether other sports will have to scale back to help the IOC meet its limit of 10,500 athletes at the Summer Olympics. The addition of the five team sports could significantly increase the number of participants.