After 128 years, cricket to make Olympic comeback at 2028 Los Angeles Games

Cricket may be included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, but it still needs official approval at the 141st International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Mumbai on October 15-16.

The Los Angeles organizing committee has recommended cricket in its T20 format, along with four other sports, for the 2028 Games. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has also confirmed this recommendation.

The ICC chairman, Greg Barclay, expressed delight at this recommendation and noted that it’s a significant step toward bringing cricket back to the Olympics after more than a century.

The other sports recommended alongside cricket are flag football, a variant of American football, baseball/softball, squash, and lacrosse.

Cricket was last played at the Olympics in 1900 in Paris

The recommendation for cricket by the LA organizing committee marks the end of months of uncertainty about cricket’s return to the Olympics. Cricket was last played at the in 1900 in Paris, where only two teams competed.

The inclusion of cricket in the Olympics would provide the IOC with access to the vast cricket market, especially in countries like India and Asia. The IOC’s decision to hold its session in India for the first time since 1983 highlights its increasing focus on the country.

IOC President Thomas Bach, who is in Mumbai, showed his support for cricket by playing with kids at an event in Navi Mumbai. Bach has previously spoken positively about cricket’s potential inclusion in the Olympics, emphasizing the need for the Games to be more inclusive and sustainable.

The 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, Australia, could provide cricket with a more stable presence in the Games. While breakdancing was added to the 2024 Paris Games, it hasn’t been proposed by the LA organizing committee.

The USA is another significant market that both the ICC and IOC are eager to tap into. The ICC T20 World Cup is set to be co-hosted by the West Indies and the USA next year. The LA organizing committee sees the proposed sports as relevant, innovative, and community-based, with the potential to engage diverse fanbases and expand the Games’ presence in digital spaces.

Squash, after years of trying to get into the Olympics without much success, has finally made progress and received approval from the LA committee. Baseball/softball, which was part of the Tokyo Games in 2021 but is missing from the roster in Paris next year, is also set to make a return.

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