All that is needed for cricket to be included in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles is official approval during the 141st International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session, which is slated for October 15–16 in Mumbai.
In its application to the International Olympic group, the Los Angeles Organizing Committee suggested four additional sports and T20 cricket for the 2028 Games, the group said on Monday. The same was affirmed by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The National Football League (NFL) is based in the USA and plays flag football, a variation of American football. Other suggested sports are squash, lacrosse, baseball/softball, and lacrosse.
The approval of cricket by the LA organizing committee was significant and marks the end of a two-year process with the world cricket organisation. At the IOC Session in Mumbai, it will now be “reviewed and put forward by the IOC Executive Board for ratification.”
It ends months of speculation over cricket’s return to the Olympics (the sport only appeared in the games once, in 1900 in Paris, involving two teams), and it gives the IOC access to the enormous market that the game has, particularly in India and throughout Asia. The fact that the IOC is holding its session in the nation for the first time since New Delhi in 1983 is another indication of the Olympic body’s growing attention to India.
One day after seeing an Indian Super League (ISL) match, IOC president Thomas Bach, who is now in Mumbai, engaged in a little cricket match with young people at an event in Navi Mumbai on Monday. The German, a past foil fencing Olympian, has already expressed optimism on cricket’s likely Olympic inclusion.
Cricket may enjoy a longer run at the Olympics with Brisbane, Australia, hosting the 2032 Games. For example, breakdancing, or breaking, was added to the 2024 Paris Games, although the LA organizing team did not propose it.
The USA is a massive athletic market that the ICC and IOC are keen to explore, and they are becoming more and more interested in cricket. The USA and the West Indies will share hosting duties for the ICC T20 World Cup in 2019.
