The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board has approved the inclusion of five additional sports which were proposed by the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics organising body. Cricket, baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse and squash all received backing by the board in Mumbai.
Modern pentathlon, featuring obstacle racing, and weightlifting have also been restored back into the Olympic programme. Boxing, however, is back on hold.
Cricket will be played in both men’s and women’s teams events in a T20 format.
In the press conference, Bach said, “It’s a great opportunity to engage with a new athlete and fan community. Not only (in) particular in India but across the world. We see growing popularity of cricket in particular of the T20 format. The World Cup has been a huge success already. We welcome the best cricketers to perform in US in LA 28 where they were earlier this year. We had a very successful cricket tournament earlier this year in Dallas (Major League Cricket). There is a strong Indian community in US. It’s a very attractive for LA and for the Olympic movement,” he said.
“We will work with International Cricket Council (ICC) as we do in all sports. We will work with federations. We look to receive their ideas on how to use this inclusion to make cricket even popular across the globe,” he added.
Lacrosse, meanwhile, a popular sport among the youth in the USA, will use the sixes discipline.
On boxing, IOC president Thomas Bach said the board wanted it to be included in 2028 and would rule out a task force managing the sport for a third consecutive Olympics. He insisted the issue of misgovernance would be resolved as it progresses.
On modern pentathlon, Bach said it would have been removed had obstacle not replaced riding.
Explained: How cricket and Olympics Games can benefit from its inclusion
Although, to accommodate all these sports, the Games will exceed the 10,500 athlete limit, stated IOC sports director Kit McConnell.
The decisions of the IOC Executive Board will now be voted on on the second day of the IOC Session in Mumbai (16 October).