Five additional sports, including cricket, baseball/softball, flag football, squash and lacrosse, were overwhelmingly approved to appear at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics Monday.
Only two members voted against the proposal among over 80 present at the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) 141st Session underway in Mumbai, India. The vote, largely a formality, was the final step allowing the sports to punch their tickets to the Games for the 2028 edition only. The IOC’s Executive Board had already greenlit the plan at a meeting last Friday.
The IOC membership also voted to allow the sports of weightlifting and modern pentathlon to return to the program after they were both put on notice for organizational deficiencies. On Friday the Executive Board opted to put boxing ‘on hold’ for 2028 as the IOC explores options for a new international federation to govern the sport after the International Boxing Federation was stripped of recognition in June.
Flag Football and Squash will appear on the program for the first time in history. Baseball and Softball have appeared at the Games from 1992 to 2008 and again in 2020. Cricket appeared once at the Games in 1900 and lacrosse was contested in 1904 and 1908.
Adding cricket is considered a significant financial play for both LA 2028 and the IOC. Staging the most popular sport of the most populous nation will help secure Indians’ interest in the Olympics providing a huge boost to broadcast and sponsorship revenue potential.
Baseball and Softball, as well as flag football are both associated with iconic American sports leagues and are widely popular in Southern California. Lacrosse in an indigenous American sport enjoyed frequently at the college level. Squash is popular throughout the world and has been a persistent bidder for inclusion at the Games.
“The choice of these five new sports is in line with the American sports culture and will showcase iconic American sports to the world, while bringing international sports to the United States,” IOC President Thomas Bach said.
“I have long believed that we have an incredible opportunity in Los Angeles to create the most compelling Games, not just for us, but for the world. Our Olympic sport program, in its entirety, reflects this belief,” LA 2028 chair Casey Wasserman said.
Last year surfing and skateboarding, two culturally significant sports in Los Angeles, were added to the program by the IOC. In total the LA 2028 sports program could be the largest in history, catapulting the number of athletes above the chartered 10,500 athlete cap.
https://twitter.com/ICC/status/1713849508809900536
https://twitter.com/WBSC/status/1713825954412257522
Flag football is #LABOUND !
IFAF, the @NFL and @USAFootball – the national governing body of American football in the USA – have joined forces to welcome today’s vote of the IOC Session in Mumbai, India:https://t.co/yV4j4UMfMs pic.twitter.com/tD0RnzdV20
— Int’l Fed of American Football (@IFAFMedia) October 16, 2023
https://twitter.com/WorldLacrosse/status/1713894331189207056
https://twitter.com/WorldSquash/status/1713823399749800238
